than ever, on cooperation and solidarity between countries. past editions of this conference had provided useful exchanges of ideas on different topics of relevance for the central banks in this region. the theme of this conference, central banks at the frontline of the covid - 19 crisis, is closely linked to the pandemic besetting the world for almost a year and a half. it also covers the policies that central banks have put in place to confront the crisis and, more importantly, the role our institutions must play in the current recovery process. central banks have played a crucial role in confronting the crisis. in a setting of high uncertainty and a still - fragile economic situation, monetary policies need to continue contributing to maintaining favourable financing conditions that allow the recovery to take firm root. the road ahead will not be easy. we will have to contend with the legacies of the current crisis and face more structural challenges – such as the digitalisation of the economy, population ageing and the fight against climate change – which, in one way or another, will affect all of our countries. in particular, the role of central banks in combating climate change is one of the top priorities on our institutions ’ agendas over the coming years. as is well known, the pandemic has led to a global health crisis with a huge and likewise global economic impact, on a scale never seen in peacetime. the unprecedented economic policy 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches response to the shock caused by the pandemic has been crucial in limiting the impact of the crisis. our experience of this challenging period allows us to draw some lessons that might be relevant for the management of the next stages of the current crisis and, of course, for future crises. on the domestic front, the speed, forcefulness, adaptability and comprehensiveness of the economic policy response has been key to reducing costs in the short run and preventing even more extreme and adverse scenarios. it will probably also be crucial in containing medium and long - term damage. in addition, it is worth emphasising the complementarity of the monetary policy measures and those adopted both by fiscal and by prudential authorities, which have significantly reinforced each other. an opportunity for multilateralism but beyond domestic policy efforts, this crisis has demonstrated that, in a highly globalised world, internationally coordinated action is of the essence both during the recession and, more importantly, with a view to the recovery. and this is particularly the case in europe, given our high

degree of integration. although the crisis has affected sectors and countries differently, the economic policy response must be global in nature. first, on the health front, the crisis will not be over until immunity against the virus has been achieved worldwide. in this respect, the support of multilateral institutions is essential to accelerate the pace of vaccine rollouts in low - income countries. second, on the economic front, we are witnessing sizable divergences in the rate of recovery across economies. in particular, poorer countries face tougher challenges easing lockdown measures and, at the same time, have more limited policy space to support the recovery. a premature tightening of international financial conditions would be particularly harmful for them, putting their recovery at risk and potentially leading to social and geopolitical tensions. thus, a kshaped recovery would, ultimately, translate into lower global growth rates. the multilateral approach is now more important than ever given the global nature of the current crisis, but also because of the challenges ahead in the near future. these include the increasing digitalisation of our economies and the policies to combat climate change, which are also global in nature and therefore require a global response. accordingly, the time is ripe to give fresh impetus to multilateralism. certainly, some recent developments invite optimism, but without falling into complacency. first, international financial institutions have stepped up resolutely to strengthen the global economy at a critical time for the world. the imf has provided sizeable new financing to a record number of countries and has promoted a new general allocation of special drawing rights ( sdrs ) of usd 650 billion, the largest issuance in history. this allocation, which is expected to be implemented by the end of august, would provide substantial liquidity support to all imf members. in addition, the imf – in response to the request made from many international quarters – is exploring options for the voluntary channelling of sdrs from better - off countries to the more vulnerable imf members. second, very soon after the start of the pandemic, the g20 launched an initiative, known as debt service suspension initiative or dssi, to provide temporary bilateral external debt relief to the world ’ s poorest countries. this initiative has seen two six - month extensions and, more importantly, it has been complemented by the introduction of a “ common framework ” for restructuring the sovereign debt of countries with deep - seated debt problems. despite the limited quantitative results of the dssi and