G-7 finance ministers back IMF emerging market plan for dollars

[WASHINGTON] The world's seven largest industrial economies and central banks support a new International Monetary Fund programme that seeks to quickly address a shortage of dollars in emerging markets.

Group of Seven Finance ministers and central bankers also called for "urgent contributions" to an IMF fund for catastrophes and poverty reduction, according to a statement released Tuesday by the US Treasury Department. The department hosted a virtual meeting this week of the finance ministers and central bankers.

"The scale of this health crisis is generating unprecedented challenges for the global economy," the group said in a two-page summary of the meeting.

The G-7 said it's prepared to provide "timebound suspension" on bilateral debt servicing claims for countries eligible for World Bank "concessional financing" on the condition that there's agreement among all G-20 creditors and the Paris Club.

BLOOMBERG