Economics
IMF Reserves No Substitute for Debt Restructuring, Official Says
- Okamoto says injection isn’t meant to replace IMF programs
- IMF advancing plan for $650 billion in special drawing rights
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The International Monetary Fund’s proposal to create $650 billion in reserve assets is meant to meet global liquidity needs and not take the place of debt restructurings or loan programs for nations that need them, a top official said.
Geoffrey Okamoto, the fund’s first deputy managing director, said that the IMF is working to approve the special drawing rights, or SDRs, in the coming months to help poorer countries weather the pandemic, as some face delays in vaccination until later this year or 2022. The fund is also working to find ways to reallocate the assets from rich to poor nations, he said.