Pope Francis to IMF, World Bank: ‘Cut the debt of poor countries’

Pope Francis has urged global lenders, World Bank and the IMF, to cushion poor countries against distressing debt load. [File, Standard]

Pope Francis has told world financial chiefs that poor countries hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus need to have their debt burden reduced and be given a greater say in global decision making.

In a letter to the participants of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s annual spring meeting, the pope said the pandemic had forced the world to come to terms with interrelated socioeconomic, ecological, and political crises.