G20 Summit Warns of "Worsening Debt Crisis" in World

G20 leaders intend to express their concerns about the "deepening debt crisis" facing some middle-income countries and call on all creditors, either public or private, to respond quickly to requests for debt remediation.

The draft G-20 leaders' statement includes strong language on debt problems, as the leaders acknowledge that problems are not limited to the poorest countries.

 The draft stressed the importance of the participation of all creditors from the official and private sectors in debt relief and bearing an equitable amount of the burden.

 But the statement did not mention China, which has been criticized by Western countries and international financial institutions for its delay in debt restructuring efforts.

The leaders said, according to the draft, that they would intensify efforts to implement the common framework to address debt "in a predictable manner, in a coordinated, orderly manner, and in a timely manner."

The G20 and the Paris Club of official creditors had drawn up the joint framework in late 2020 to help low-income countries overcome the "COVID-19" crisis.

However, it proved difficult to achieve results, and only 3 countries submitted formal requests to deal with debts within the framework, namely Chad, Zambia, and Ethiopia.