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ELITE Vol.1, Issue 32, June 2021 ﺔﻴﺑﺮ #

Semiannual Membership Report

of the IMF

Written by:Walid Wael
4th Year, Political Science

Mahmoud Mohieldin, the Executive Director of the International There was a call for action regarding the climate change.
Monetary Fund, said that, after the corona virus crisis, many states For it to be effective, it should be considered as one of the
face many economic dangers if they weren’t able to quickly sustainable development goals of the UN. In addition, the
recover and become resilient. The Office of the Executive Director crisis of COVID-19 added more problems and delayed
of the IMF seeks to include all countries in the policy discussions many plans to face problems like food insecurity and
and protect their economy from falling. The semiannual environmental degradation. Many poor countries were not
membership report of the IMF that was issued in November 2020 able to face all this which led to more crises.
came to discuss specific economic issues like sustainability,
digitalization, debt management, general special drawing rights However, the pandemic led to speeding up the digital
allocation, and the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) debt transformation. Countries that have well-developed digital
relief initiative and applying it on Sudan. The report turned to the infrastructure were the winners during this crisis as they
statement made in the IMFC that was held in 2021. It was also benefitted from having the new e-commerce, e-banking and
mentioned some details regarding the several meetings including developed ICT that helps economy greatly. The IMF has a
those concerned with the middle east and African countries. The great role in assisting countries to develop their digital
report mentioned some Arab states in details to track the spending infrastructure in order to resist the casualties of the
pandemic.
of the funds provided to them, including the countries of the Gulf.
The report then concluded by discussing some issues released From another perspective, the IMF’s executive office is
related to economy like globalization.
emphasizing the major role of the organization in managing
the debt issues of the developing countries which were
exacerbated as a result of the Corona Crisis. The G-20’s
Debt Service Suspension Initiative had a role in helping
low-income countries pass the crisis. The initiative provided
several billions to help these countries. The board of the
IMF convened to assess public debt sustainability in market-
access countries and had a multi-dimensional approach to
tackle debt vulnerabilities. The board of the IMF also
approved a general allocation of 650 million Special
Drawing Rights (SDRs), which was encouraged so much,
and it is expected to take place next August.

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