GENEVA (SE): Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva, renewed Pope Francis’ call for debt relief for nations struggling due to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, during the 67th Executive Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Trade and Development Board, on July 2, Vatican News reported.
The archbishop noted that the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) crisis has placed excessive financial strain on developing nations and that the worldwide economic crisis presented a unique challenge that has upset the balance of the world economy.
Widespread lockdowns have led to a “deep supply shock”, since many factories and production facilities have been forced to close and have also caused “consequent demand shocks”, because people having less money to spend due to job layoffs and companies being unwilling to commit to long-term investment plans due to economic uncertainties, Vatican News reported.
“There is no doubt, that the current Covid-19 crisis will more severely affect the lives and livelihoods of those in the developing world,” Archbishop Jurkovič said.
He urged the international community to “deliver speedy and substantive debt relief to crisis-stricken developing countries,” adding that nations need to reduce systemic imbalances in market power that result from “the lop-sided rules of a hyper-globalised world,” adding that, “Creating a “more inclusive and sustainable world” requires more than tweaking markets.
Archbishop Jurkovič concluded by urging nations and institutional creditors to provide debt relief for developing countries, in order to give them a chance to “respond to the (Covid-19) health shock and to mitigate the accompanying economic damage.”
