The Managing Director International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, said that global economic growth is expected to fall to 4.4 per cent in 2020.
She made this known on Thursday in Washington D. C. at a virtual media conference during the ongoing 2020 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.
According to Georgieva, over the next five years, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can cost an estimated 28 trillion dollars in output losses.
The managing director said that the picture over the last few months had become less dire, yet there was continued projection of the worst global recession since the Great Depression.
According to her, all countries now face a “long ascent”- a journey that will be difficult, uneven, uncertain and prone to setbacks.
She, however recommended three policy priorities to overcome the crisis it posed and build a brighter future.
Georgievia said that the first thing to do was to continue with essential measures to protect lives and livelihoods. Georgievia’s second recommendation was to build a more resilient and inclusive economy.
Thirdly, Georgieva recommended that debt should be dealt with. She said that global public debt was projected to reach a record high of 100 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2021.
