Why securing debt forgiveness for poor countries is so hard
For debt relief to be meaningful, private creditors and China must be on board
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/20201017_FNP503.jpg)
GOVERNMENTS IN MANY poor countries have faced a sickening choice this year, between spending to support their populations through the covid-19 crisis and paying creditors. On October 14th finance ministers of the G20 group of countries offered a temporary salve for 73 of the world’s neediest countries, by saying they would extend their Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to halt debt-service payments until July 2021. That should free up funds to fight the pandemic (see chart). But a lasting solution will take more dramatic action.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Relief efforts”
Finance & economics October 17th 2020
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