Two days back, 18 world leaders signed an appeal to IMF calling for allocating Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to enable African countries to buy essential goods & medical supplies. (SDR is an international reserve asset which can be exchanged for currencies.)
The signatories are the heads of govt of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mali, Kenya, Angola, Senegal, & DR Congo, the Chair of AU Commission, President of European Commission, & the President of the European Council.
Prominent economists and non-profit groups around the world have been calling for the IMF to issue SDRs to help ease adverse economic conditions, and in particular to assist developing countries.
But two governments have opposed the proposal. The first one is no surprise - it's the US, which seems to want to burn the world down, with its hijacking of medical supplies for other countries and barbaric sanctions against Iran, Venezuela & Cuba amid the Covid-19 crisis.
The 2nd one to oppose the proposal which will help all countries is India! The BJP government, as if it is not satisfied piling misery on the people of India, now wants to cause further hardship to the poor of the rest of the world and earn their enmity as well. What a shame!
