Kommersant english: IMF wants to give concessional loans to middle-income countries

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to develop a concessional lending mechanism for low- and middle-income countries against the backdrop of climate change. In particular, this will affect island states. The size of the fund will be $30-50 billion. "In light of the climate crisis, we intend to develop a low-interest long-term lending instrument, the loans will be provided not only to low-income countries, but also to vulnerable middle-income countries, especially island ones," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at a debate at the Fourth Paris Peace Forum. The IMF thus wants to "participate in a landmark transformation of the global economy" toward a model that will not contribute to climate change. They plan to finalize it by the IMF's spring session and implement it by the fund's annual meeting, which usually takes place in October. Ms. Georgieva suggested that countries with strong financial reserves who do not need the IMF's help should transfer some of their Special Drawing Rights (SDR, the IMF's unit of account) to the countries in need. According to her, states with the weakest economies receive a small share of SDR - 21 billion out of 650 billion, developing countries - 275 billion, and the African continent - 35 billion. In October, the IMF published its Regional Economic Outlook: Europe report. Russia's economic recovery differs only in a number of parameters from emerging markets in Europe, while the GDP growth in the region currently assumed by the IMF will be higher than the expected Russian GDP dynamics. At the same time, the economists of the Fund point out that the differences in the recovery of economies will largely be determined by the level of vaccination of the population.