Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa hailed the World Bank Group’s decision to allocate $14 billion to support countries as they grapple to combat COVID-19.
Addressing the Development Committee on behalf of the Arab and Maldives Group, represented by Bahrain, he stressed the importance of international co-operation.
The virtual meeting was held on the sidelines of the spring meeting of the boards of governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.
“The World Bank Group has the ability to play an influential role to reduce the social and economic impacts of the coronavirus by designing dedicated policies to restore strong and inclusive global growth,” he said, urging the World Bank to deepen its analysis of social and economic impacts while providing ad hoc guidance to define spending priorities and appropriate policies to ensure sustainable development.
The Finance Minister said the Arab Group welcomed the call to reduce the debt burden on low-income countries and to continue the multi-dimensional approach followed by the World Bank to work with borrowers and creditors, including helping countries to improve public debt management, increase debt transparency and enhance financial sustainability.
