Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged the international community to provide necessary support to African states on Tuesday, amid considerations over equity in facing the coronavirus pandemic.
In a speech during the Paris-hosted Summit on the Financing of African Economies, El-Sisi said that African states saw an unprecedented acceleration in economic growth prior to the pandemic, making them a hub for cross-border investments.
He said that the financial support provided to Africa was lower than required, adding that poor access to coronavirus vaccines by African citizens is exacerbating economic and social problems incurred during the pandemic.
El-Sisi said that economic development achieved by Africa in recent years is being threatened by the repercussions of the pandemic, which has slashed its source of foreign currency and led to enormous pressures on liquidity to Africa.
He praised international initiatives intended to aid affected economies, including the debt service suspension initiative (DSSI), debt rescheduling and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) special drawing rights.
El-Sisi joined a call by African states to reallocate some of these IMF rights that are currently unused in order to identify funding mechanisms that would help low and middle-income African states to provide vaccines and restore growth rates.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
