ISLAMABAD, March 17: Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned richer countries to prepare to write off the debts of the world’s poorer states, expressing fear the coronavirus could devastate the economies of developing nations.
“My worry is poverty and hunger,” Khan said. “The world community has to think of some sort of a debt write-off for countries like us, which are very vulnerable, at least that will help us in coping with [coronavirus].”
In an interview to a foreign news agency released on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said, “If a serious outbreak happens in Pakistan, he’s worried his government’s efforts to lift the ailing economy out of near-collapse would begin an unstoppable slide backward”.
The Prime Minister feared exports fall-off, soared unemployment would and an onerous national debt to become an impossible burden.
“It’s not just Pakistan. I would imagine the same in India, in the subcontinent, in African countries,” he said, referring to the virus. “If it spreads, we will all have problems with our health facilities. We just don’t have that capability. We just don’t have the resources.”
Imran Khan further called for lifting sanctions against Iran, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. – TLTP
