COVID-19 is Worst Global Crisis since World War II: PM Imran

The Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the UNGA has said that the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the highest number of lives after World War-II and declared it as the most serious global crisis.

The Premier was virtually addressing the UN General Assembly’s 2-day special session on the response to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and forge a united path forward to better recovery, including access to a vaccine.

The only way we can have the fiscal space to maintain and revive growth is through access to additional liquidity, PM Imran Khan said

While highlighting the need for reforming the international financial architecture, PM Imran Khan called for building an inclusive and equitable debt management mechanism, constructing a democratic and SDG-focused trading system, and installing a fair international tax regime.

The Prime Minister Imran Khan also proposed concessional financing to lower income countries through multilateral development banks; provision of loans at lower costs, mobilizing 100 billion US dollars per year for climate action in developing countries, and halting of illicit financial outflows from developing to rich countries.

The Prime Minister said the coronavirus pandemic has infected nearly 65 million people and killed sadly close to 1.5 million.

The Premier expressed hope that whenever the vaccine is available, it must be offered to everyone, He also apprised that, We provided a relief package of around 8 billion dollars to support the poor and to keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He pointed that nearly 100 million people in developing countries would fall back into extreme poverty while on the other hand, the rich countries had injected $13 trillion as fiscal stimulus to revive their economies.

Developing countries just do not have the resources to afford such a massive economic stimulus. They are struggling to find even a fraction of the $ 2-3 trillion they require to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Imran Khan said

In his address the PM Imran Khan also mentioned Pakistan’s successful policy of “smart lockdowns” and said these efforts were aimed at ensuring that not they save people from the virus, but also prevent them from dying from hunger, He added that we provided a relief package of around US $ 8 billion – which was almost 3% of our DGP – to support the poor and to keep the economy afloat at the same time,”.

The Prime Minister Imran Khan proposed a 10 point agenda for urgent action, which called for;

1. Suspension of Debt till the end of the COVID-19 pandemic for poor and most stressed countries.
2. Cancellation of debt of poor countries.
3. Restructuring of the public sector debt of other developing countries under an agreed inclusive multilateral framework.
4. A general allocation of special drawing rights of $500 billion.
5. Expanded concessional financing to lower income countries through multilateral development banks.
6. Creation of a new ‘liquidity and sustainability facility’, which should provide short term loans at lower costs.
7. Fulfillment of the 0.7 % official development assistance commitments.
8. Mobilizing the required $1.5 trillion annual investment in sustainable infrastructure.
9. Achievement of the agreed target of mobilizing $100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries.
10. Immediate action to halt the huge illicit financial outflows from developing countries to rich countries, to offshore tax havens and at the same time, immediate return of their assets stolen by corrupt politicians and criminals back to these countries.