Debt standstill for poor countries to last 12 months: G20

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the 2nd meeting of G20 Finance Ministers, to discuss global economic outlook amid evolving COVID-19 pandemic.(Credit: PTI Photo)

The world's poorest nations will not have to worry about debt payments to official creditors in the Group of 20 for at least a year, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said Wednesday.

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G20 finance ministers and central bankers announced a debt suspension following their virtual meeting on Wednesday, and Al-Jadaan said it means "poor countries don't need to worry about repaying over the course of the next 12 months."

The initiative will "provide north of $20 billion of immediate liquidity" for poor countries to use "for their health system and support their people facing COVID-19," he said in a press briefing.