G20 EYE ECONOMIC PACKAGE FOR POOR NATIONS

Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies will hold a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss ways to ensure an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and maintain support for poor countries through the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and debt relief, according to Kyodo News.

The rollout of vaccines has raised hopes for the global economy, which is projected by the International Monetary Fund to grow 5.5 percent this year. But one key challenge is to make such vaccines accessible to all in an affordable and equitable manner as a robust economic recovery would hinge on containing the pandemic globally.

The G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors will meet in a video conference for the first time since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January, marking a departure from his predecessor Donald Trump who shunned multilateral engagement in pursuit of national interests.

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.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the G-20 earlier in the month to draw up a global vaccination plan, saying that just 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all COVID-19 vaccines while over 130 countries have yet to receive one single dose.

New U.S. 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, the former head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said in a letter sent to her G-20 colleagues ahead of the meeting, which will also be attended by Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso.

In Japan, a fresh state of emergency over the virus for some urban areas with relatively high infections such as Tokyo since early January is expected to have dented growth in the economy.

Only recently vaccinations have begun for frontline health workers with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics approaching this summer.

The pandemic has prompted advanced nations to ramp up fiscal support while poor nations with high levels of debt have had little room for policy action to weather the health crisis.

In November, the G-20 extended its program 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 is needed, taking into account the economic and financial situation.

The program, called the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, was launched in May last year by the G-20 and Paris Club of traditional creditor nations after the outbreak of the virus saw vulnerable countries saddled with higher financing costs.

The G-20 groups Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Italy holds the rotating presidency.

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