Governor of the Bank of Korea: "Vaccine Inequality Threatens Global Economic Recovery"

Source: Alessia Pierdomenico / Bloomberg

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, the chair country of this year’s Group of Twenty (G20) summit, stated that the disparity in COVID-19 vaccination rates between advanced and developing countries could pose a threat to the global economic recovery.

In an interview with a media outlet on the 4th (local time), Governor Visco said, "The uneven pace of COVID-19 vaccinations could be the greatest threat to the global economic recovery."

He added, "The key to the current (global economic recovery) lies not in monetary or fiscal measures but in the speed of vaccination," and emphasized, "Close international cooperation within the G20 must be maintained to prevent differences in economic levels among countries from leading to excessive disparities in vaccination rates."

Governor Visco also expressed caution about the early termination of government-level COVID-19 support measures.

This year’s G20 meetings will focus on ways to assist developing countries’ recovery from COVID-19, including extending debt relief measures for economically vulnerable countries and expanding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights.

Prior to the summit, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held virtually on the 7th, will discuss policy coordination directions to address the inequality issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the post-COVID era, as the global economic recovery becomes more visible following vaccine distribution.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted, "The global economy is recovering faster than economists’ forecasts, driven by growth in the United States and China," but also pointed out that "new lockdown measures in Europe and middle- and low-income countries threaten growth," suggesting that the imbalance in vaccination rates could be a variable affecting the global economic recovery.

According to Bloomberg Economics, the global economic growth rate this year is projected to reach 6.9%, the highest in 50 years since the World Bank (WB) began compiling data. This forecast was released ahead of the IMF’s spring meetings, held jointly with the WB starting on the 5th. The IMF is expected to announce a revised forecast on the 9th, upwardly adjusting the previous estimate of 5.5%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.