”We would all sink” –

RIYADH (EFE).— The director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, assured yesterday Sunday that poor countries must “do their part” to receive economic support from rich nations, especially in terms of restructuring the debt and to cover your financial needs.

“Poor countries must also do their part. They must raise taxes, fight corruption, improve the quality of their spending and show that they are committed to their own people,” Kristalina said on a panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting, which It started yesterday Sunday in Riyadh.

The director of the IMF assured that, if these conditions are met, rich countries must respond with “a large amount of international aid for debt restructuring,” among other aspects.

“It’s time to recognize that we are together in this small ship called the world, and that rich countries cannot tell poor countries ‘your side of the ship is leaking.’ “We would all sink,” said the economist.

Likewise, he recalled that the world’s economies have been “resilient” despite the shocks of recent years and recalled that the IMF has improved the global growth projection to 3.2% for 2024, mainly due to the good economic performance of “a small number of countries”, such as the United States or China.

For this reason, Kristalina established that the immediate priorities of countries must be to reduce inflation, rebuild their fiscal reserves to face external shocks, and find “ways to cooperate more, because the fragmentation of the economy is certainly bad for the prospects of growth”.

For his part, the Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed al Yadaan, warned in the same panel that the geopolitical challenges facing the world, such as the war in the Gaza Strip, are some of the most important risks for the worldwide economy.

direct impact

“Geopolitical tensions bring with them things that directly impact economies, such as fragmentation, protectionism, or the use of the economy as a tool to achieve geopolitical objectives in terms of limitations on trade or technology,” he listed.

Given this, he recommended that countries focus on the development of their human capital, innovation and technology, and debt sustainability to be more prepared for these types of challenges.

Regarding the war in the Gaza Strip, the minister indicated that conflicts have a great impact on “emotions and spirits,” something that directly affects the economy, which is why he asked world leaders to keep “a cool head.” and do everything possible to achieve de-escalation.