IMF extends debt service relief for 25 eligible low-income countries

December 21, 2021: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on December 15, 2021, a fifth and final tranche of debt service relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) for 25 member countries with eligible debt service falling due to the IMF from January 11 to April 13, 2022, a press release

The approval of the fifth tranche, totaling approximately SDR 82.1 million (about US$115 million), follows four prior tranches approved on April 13, 2020, October 2, 2020, April 1, 2021, and October 6, 2021, and helps free up scarce financial resources for vital health, social, and economic support to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tranche completes the two-year COVID-related debt service relief first approved on April 13, 2020, totaling a cumulative debt service relief of about SDR 690 million (US$ 964 million).

In March 2020, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva launched an urgent fundraising effort to raise SDR 1 billion (US$1.4 billion) in grants for the CCRT. This would enable the CCRT to provide financial assistance for COVID-related relief on debt service for up to a maximum of two years while leaving the CCRT adequately funded for future needs. So far, donors have pledged contributions totaling about SDR 609 million (about US$852 million), including from the European Union, the UK, Japan, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Greece, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Sweden, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Malta, and Indonesia.

Press Release