IMF: Poor countries must “comply” to receive support

The director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, assured this Sunday that poor countries must also “do their part” to receive economic support from rich nations, especially in terms of debt restructuring and to cover their financial needs. “They must raise taxes, fight corruption, improve the quality of their spending and demonstrate that they are committed to their own people,” he told a panel at the special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which It started today in Riyadh.

The director of the IMF assured that, if these conditions are met, rich countries must respond with “a large amount of international aid for debt restructuring,” among other aspects. “It’s time to recognize that we are together in this small ship called the world, and that rich countries cannot tell poor countries ‘your side of the ship is leaking.’ We would all sink,” said the economist in one of the first discussion panels of this special meeting of the Forum, which traditionally meets in Davos, lasting two days.

Georgieva highlighted that the improvement in global growth prospects is due to the good economic performance of “a small number of countries”, such as the United States or China. In others, such as Germany, the forecast is not so positive. For this reason, he established that the “immediate” priorities of the countries should be to reduce inflation, rebuild their fiscal reserves to face external shocks, and find “ways to cooperate more, because the fragmentation of the economy is certainly bad for the prospects.” of growth.”

Saudi Arabia warns of consequences of war in Gaza
For his part, the Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed al Yadaan, warned in the same panel that the geopolitical challenges facing the world, such as the war in the Gaza Strip, are some of the most important risks for the worldwide economy. “Geopolitical tensions bring with them things that directly impact economies, such as fragmentation, protectionism, or the use of the economy as a tool to achieve geopolitical objectives in terms of limitations on trade or technology,” the Saudi listed.

The Gaza war, along with conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere, puts “a lot of pressure” on the economic “mood,” said Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, something that directly affects the economy, for example. which asked world leaders to keep a “cool head” and do everything possible to achieve the stability that the region needs. “I think sensible countries, leaders and people must prevail, and we must ensure that de-escalation is actually de-escalated,” Yadaan said.

“The world is walking a tightrope today, trying to balance security and prosperity,” Saudi Planning Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim said at a news conference Saturday before the summit. “We meet at a time when an error in judgment, a miscalculation or a miscommunication will further exacerbate our challenges,” he warned. Source: news

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