President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the reallocation of unused International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve assets also known as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to support recovery efforts in developing economies.
The President, represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, stated this Tuesday at the virtual high-level meeting of Heads of State and Government on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.
The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to supplement its member countries’ official reserves. The facility was designed to help in stabilising the global economy during financial shocks and IMF member-countries had previously contributed to making up the reserve totaling about $204B.
And since the global financial shocks that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, some developing countries including Nigeria had called for its contribution. However, as of last month, there was still an estimated $176B balance from the asset belonging to developed countries who have not used their contributions.
According to the President, the “COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted our societies and economies, worsened inequalities, and deepened the gap between available resources and the resources needed to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. We must mobilise finance in response to this pandemic induced economic crisis and for long-term development.
“We call for enhanced global liquidity including through the reallocation of unused Special Drawing Rights currently held by developed countries,” the President stated.