Bangladesh
Covid-19 Global action is urgent to address the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic: PM Hasina
Dhaka, March 30: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has emphasized the need for concerted global action and strong leadership to resolve the liquidity crisis quickly and reduce the debt burden in the Covid-19 and post-Covid period.
"We need an ambitious and integrated global action plan to address the liquidity crisis and reduce the debt burden in the current context and in the post-Covid-19 period," she said.
The Prime Minister made the remarks in a video message on Monday at a virtual meeting of heads of state and government titled "Financing for Development in the Era of Covid-19 and Beyond Initiative" on International Data Architecture and Liquidity.
The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres convened the meeting of world leaders.
The goal of this high-level virtual meeting is to highlight the need for more bold and coordinated action to address liquidity and debt problems.
The virtual meeting follows a series of meetings in 2020 under the auspices of the Financing for Development in the Era of Covid-19 and Beyond Initiative (FFDI) to plan action plans to help the economy recover from the epidemic.
"We need strong leadership from the G7, G20 and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries," Sheikh Hasina said in a video message.
"Developed countries for risky countries, MDBS (Multilateral Development Banks) and IFIS (International Financial Institutions) should increase liquidity on a large scale and through new allocations like 'Special Drawing Rights'," she said.
She expressed satisfaction at being able to attend this virtual meeting on the occasion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation of Bangladesh and the golden jubilee of independence.
She said that more than a year has passed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the world has not yet been able to overcome the socio-economic challenges posed by the global outbreak.
Sheikh Hasina said the United Nations feared an estimated USD 7.5 trillion in losses to the world economy in the next two years.
Referring to various steps taken by her government to tackle Covid-19, the Prime Minister said, "In Bangladesh, we have taken concerted steps to reduce the adverse effects of the epidemic on the lives and livelihoods of our people."
