President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday called on the developed countries to reexamine the financial gaps and debt portfolio of developing countries, while noting that it is a critical move for those countries to be able to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and other external shocks.
The call was made during the Guyanese President’s address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He noted that the world is facing a series of interlocking challenges, namely the COIVD-19 pandemic, climate change, energy and food crises and interstate conflicts. Ali said that as a consequence of the pandemic approximately 97 million more persons are living on less than US$1.90 per day, which significantly increases the global poverty rate and inequalities.
