IMF, World Bank leaders praise G20 debt relief initiative

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank David Malpass on Wednesday praised a new G20 debt relief agreement that suspends bilateral debt servbice payments by poor countries.

A source familiar with a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors said the debt service suspension would run from May 1 through Dec. 31, with an option for renewal in 2021.

Georgieva, in a statement to a meeting of G20 leaders also said the IMF was "urgently" seeking some $18 billion in new resources for the Fund's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust for poor countries and was exploring how the use of special drawing rights could aid this effort.