Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister, "Support for Crisis Situations in Developing Countries Must Be Expanded"

World Bank Efforts Highly Praised... "This Year's Debt Repayment Suspension for IDA Countries and LDCs"

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is attending the World Bank (WB) Development Committee (DC) virtual meeting on the evening of the 17th at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, emphasized on the 17th that development cooperation based on international cooperation is important not only to respond to the current situation of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis but also for recovery after the crisis. He also highly praised the World Bank Group's (WBG) efforts, including the allocation of $14 billion in emergency response funds to combat COVID-19.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong made these remarks while attending the 101st World Bank (WB) Development Committee (DC) meeting held via video conference in the afternoon.

The WB Development Committee, composed of representatives from 25 member countries, meets every April and October. Due to the global crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19, this meeting was held via video conference instead of in-person. The agenda included the WBG's response to COVID-19 and the "COVID-19 Debt Initiative: International Cooperation for Supporting International Development Association (IDA) Countries."

David Malpass, President of the WB, along with other member countries, welcomed the swift response of the international community and emphasized the need for additional and sustained support.

In particular, the member countries welcomed the international community's decision to temporarily suspend debt repayments for IDA countries and requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and WB to conduct more transparent and sustainable debt analyses, encouraging participation not only from bilateral official creditors but also from multilateral institutions and the private sector.

Furthermore, they agreed on the need for sustainable growth of developing countries in the long term to turn this crisis into an opportunity, alongside short-term emergency response measures.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong expressed the need to strengthen the 3Rs of developing countries for overcoming the current crisis and responding after the COVID-19 situation. The 3Rs stand for Responsiveness, Resilience, and Restructure.

He stated, "The international community must expand support to strengthen the responsiveness of developing countries to crisis situations," and urged, "Above all, smooth supply of medical devices and pharmaceuticals for COVID-19 response in developing countries and sharing of experience and knowledge are necessary."

He continued, "Development cooperation should enhance the resilience of developing countries," adding, "For this, it is important that multilateral organizations provide concessional funds and that member countries actively support these efforts."

He also said, "Economic restructuring, including debt restructuring and fostering future growth industries in developing countries, is necessary," and noted, "We support the proposals by the WB and IMF emphasizing the need for debt relief for vulnerable countries, and Korea plans to suspend debt repayments for IDA countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) until the end of this year."

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