Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

G20 suspends debt repayments for poorest nations fighting Covid-19

G20 suspends debt repayments for poorest nations fighting Covid-19

The world’s richest countries have agreed to freeze poor nations’ debt obligations, shortly after nearly 20 European and African leaders made a joint appeal for a massive international effort to boost Africa’s coronavirus response. “Only a global victory that fully includes Africa can bring this pandemic to an end," they said.
Finance ministers of the G20 group of major economies, which includes the US, China, India and others, said they will immediately put on hold poorer countries’ obligations to service debt they owe.

The statement issued after a videoconference on Wednesday put to rest concerns that China would block such a measure, which is aimed at helping the poorest nations focus their spending on healthcare and assistance to vulnerable people to contain the outbreak and its fallout.

The joint appeal signed by the leaders of France, Ethiopia, Germany, South Africa and other nations, published in the Financial Times, called for dramatic measures that include an immediate moratorium on all debt payments, public and private, until the pandemic is over.

While the G20 did not specify how many countries would benefit, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said 76 countries were eligible for the moratorium, including about 40 in sub-Saharan Africa.

Debt payments worth $20 billion will be suspended including $8 billion owed to private creditors and $12 billion owed to other countries, he said.

An additional $12 billion in debt payments to multilateral institutions like the World Bank are also under consideration for a debt freeze. The freeze on debt repayments will last through the end of this year and could be extended.

African officials have joined forces in recent days to appeal for billions of dollars in financial assistance and improve their position in the global competition with richer countries for badly needed medical equipment. The African Union appointed four special envoys to mobilise support and created a platform to help the continent’s 54 countries bulk-buy medical goods at more accessible prices.

While virus cases among Africa’s 1.3 billion people total more than 16,000, health experts have said the continent is weeks behind the US and Europe in the pandemic and the rise in cases looks alarmingly similar to Europe’s.

As the world braces for potential waves of the virus, the joint appeal said no region will be safe if Africa, with largely weak health systems, is left to fend for itself.

According to the statement an “unprecedented effort” is required, the appeal said, directly addressing the World Bank and IMF. “We must deploy a huge economic stimulus package of at least $100 billion” to give to Africa the resources it needs to fight the virus.

On Monday, the IMF approved $500 million to cancel six months of debt payments for 25 of the world’s most impoverished countries, including 19 African member states, so they can help tackle the pandemic.

On Wednesday, the IMF said sub-Saharan Africa could see minus-1.6 percent growth this year, “the lowest level on record”.

Calls for assistance have been growing at the highest levels. In his Easter message, Pope Francis called for debt forgiveness for the world’s poorest countries, saying they are being hardest hit by the pandemic and must not be “abandoned.”

Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio has climbed from 30 percent in 2012 to 95 percent today, said French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview posted Wednesday with Radio France Internationale.

“We absolutely must help Africa to strengthen its capacities to respond to the health shock, and we must help it to respond economically to this crisis,” said Macron.

The new appeal, signed by all European leaders of the G20, has also welcomed a European Union plan for a pledging conference in May.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×