New Delhi, Feb 26 : Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies, such as India are meeting on a virtual mode on Friday to discuss ways to ensure an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and support for poor countries through the equitable distribution of vaccines and debt relief.
This is the first G20 ministerial meet under the Italian presidency and also for the first time after the Biden administration took office in January.
Under the finance track, the G20 addresses global economic, fiscal and monetary issues.
On Friday, the finance ministers and central bank governors will discuss the 2021 priorities. These are structured around the three Ps — people, planet and prosperity, says a statement of the grouping.
The challenges posed by the pandemic calls for enhanced global coordination on economic and fiscal measures.
New US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of withdrawing fiscal and monetary support too early, stressing the need for cooperation in containing the crisis.
“This is a moment made for action and for multilateralism,” Yellen, former head of the US Federal Reserve, said in a letter sent to her G-20 colleagues ahead of the meeting.
The rollout of vaccines has raised hopes for the global economy, which is projected by the International Monetary Fund to grow 5.5 per cent this year.
Multilateral coordination and cooperation are taking on greater importance to overcome the global health crisis, which has wreaked havoc on the global economy since last year through hard lockdown measures and travel restrictions.
In November, the G-20 extended its programme to suspend debt servicing payments by poor countries until June this year.
The finance chiefs of the group are expected to examine by April whether another six-month extension.
(UNI)
