Rosthom Fadli: IMFC Statement
Statement by Mr Rosthom Fadli, Governor of the Bank of Algeria, on behalf of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan and
Tunisia, at the forty-third meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, Virtual
IMF Spring Meetings, Washington DC, 8 April 2021.
* * *
The COVID-19 crisis has taken a heavy economic toll and caused tragic loss of lives and
immense human suffering. No country has been spared. The synchronized, forceful, and timely
global policy response prevented a worse outcome, but the damage has been still very
significant and widespread. The recovery is gaining momentum, though its course and pace are
highly dependent on the dynamics of the pandemic. The pandemic's long term scarring effects
are also still uncertain. The crisis has exacted a heavy toll on the low-income countries (LICs), in
many cases reversing, in a matter of few short months, their hard-earned gains achieved over
decades in alleviating poverty and improving social conditions. The vulnerable groups-youth,
women, low skill labor and workers in the informal sector-have been hardest hit. The crisis has
pushed millions of people into extreme poverty and severe food insecurity in addition to millions
already suffering.
Saving lives is still the highest priority. Multiple waves of the virus and its still uncontrolled spread
in some regions pose serious threats to the global fight against the pandemic and further loss of
lives. The slow and uneven vaccine rollout, even in some advanced economies, and its very
limited availability in the LICs are matters of serious concern. Enabling global access to effective
and affordable vaccines is a global responsibility, and an ethical and moral issue.
We support the Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and its wellplaced focus on
creating conditions for a safe exit from the crisis followed by a sustained, strong and inclusive
global economic recovery. We welcome the GPA's recognition of difficult challenges facing many
developing countries in pursuing their development and social objectives, while facing severe
financing constraint and high debt. We further welcome the increasing IMF emphasis on
middleincome countries as many face stalled growth and large financing needs in tighter market
conditions.
Our constituency is a heterogeneous group of countries and a mix of fragile and conflict-affected
states, middle-income and frontier economies, and oil exporting countries. The crisis has
severely impacted all countries of our constituency. Our authorities reacted swiftly to the crisis
and implemented measures to alleviate its impact on lives and livelihoods, with some of our
members benefitting from Fund emergency and/or Upper Credit Tranche (UCT) facilities. The
economic recovery is gradually taking shape in our constituency, but at varying pace and
degrees. The rebound of international oil prices provided welcome relief to oil exporters in our
constituency, but financing pressures continue to persist, and economic diversification
challenges remain. The oil importing countries in our constituency continue to face large fiscal
and external imbalances and soaring public debt, although an upside surprise in remittance
inflows has provided some relief.
The recovery of the LICs, most already beset by fragilities, is further constrained by the lack of
fiscal space, elevated debt levels, declining aid and limited access to financing. While welcoming
the ongoing international efforts to assist the LICs, including through debt service relief from the
IMF and the World Bank and the G20-led DSSI, we strongly believe that a broader international
participation, including by private creditors, is critical given the LIC's debt vulnerabilities and the
uncertainties that threaten their medium-term economic viability. The fragile states and countries
afflicted by conflict and those hosting refugees in the MENAP+ region deserve close attention
and timely and commensurate response by the international community.
The IMF's nimble and proportional response to the crisis, including through an expansion of its
toolkit and higher access limits, provided a critical lifeline for members facing large financing
needs. The crisis is still evolving and there is still need for emergency support. The requests of
some 40 members are still pending, including that of a major country in our constituency. In this
regard, we would like to reiterate our call on the Fund to ensure that its financial support, policy
advice, and capacity development are available to all members in an evenhanded manner
without exception. We support the IMF in scaling-up its work on the macro-critical implications of
climate change, digitalization, poverty alleviation, youth employment, and inclusiveness in
general.
We look forward to the successful conclusion of a new general SDR allocation of US$650 billion
and encourage the Fund to work on options for voluntary reallocations of SDRs for the benefit of
poorer members. We welcome the doubling of the New Arrangements to Borrow, as well as the
renewal of the Bilateral Borrowing Agreements to meet the members' high and growing overall
demand for Fund resources and the shift towards UCT arrangements. We welcome the work on
the 16th General Review of Quotas and reaffirm our commitment to a strong, quota-based, and
adequately resourced IMF at the center of the global financial safety net.