Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) debt restructuring programme should aim at helping the countries overcome the fiscal stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. She said ‘it would be important to take into consideration the circumstances and concerns of both creditors and debtors and that in the process of debt restructuring, care must be taken to not saddle the debtor countries with overly burdensome conditionalities.’
Talking about addressing the debt vulnerabilities of low income countries, Sitharaman observed that in a longer term, a more structural treatment of debt is required. She emphasised that this process should primarily be guided by the objective of helping such countries overcome the fiscal stress caused by the pandemic.
The minister also highlighted the need to balance the health and economic objectives in the recovery plans. She added that updated commitments in the G20 Action Plan have to be kept relevant in the current policy context for the action points to remain effective as a policy response to Covid-19.