G20 nations to freeze debt of world's poorest; IMF, World Bank welcome move

Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies agreed on Wednesday to suspend debt service payments for the world's poorest countries through the end of the year, a move quickly matched by a group of hundreds of private creditors.

The actions to freeze both principal repayments and interest payments will free up more than $20 billion for the countries to spend on improving their health systems and fighting the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told reporters after a virtual meeting of G20 finance officials.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the G20 meetings this year. Wednesday's video conference meeting