TOKYO: The Group of Seven finance ministers Friday confirmed their support for a proposed six-month extension of debt service suspension for developing countries financially struggling amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a video conference Friday night Japan time, the ministers of the seven rich nations endorsed the proposal to extend the debt service suspension initiative of the Group of 20 major economies by another six months to the end of December.

The G-20 had already agreed on a six-month extension to the end of June. The additional extension is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank leaders in April.

The G-7 ministers also talked about how to allocate special drawing rights at the International Monetary Fund. They expressed concern that many developing countries may only increase repayments of their massive debts to China even if fresh funds are distributed to them.

“We’ve agreed on the importance of taking concrete steps to improve the transparency and strengthen the accountability” over the SDR allocation, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters.

The IMF will discuss measures to improve the transparency.

The G-7 countries are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

JIJI Press