{
  "title": "Exceptional Times, Exceptional Action: Opening Remarks for Spring Meetings Press Conference",
  "publication": "IMF News, April 15, 2020",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference",
  "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/index.md",
  "summary": "Opening context: virtual 2020 Spring Meetings; personal wishes for health and safety; gratitude to doctors, nurses, and front-line workers.",
  "publishDate": "2020-04-15",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Introduction and Outlook",
      "content": "- Opening context: virtual 2020 Spring Meetings; personal wishes for health and safety; gratitude to doctors, nurses, and front-line workers.\n- Quotation: “April is the cruelest month.”\n- Crisis characterization:\n  - Covid-19 is causing tragic loss of life and measures to fight it have turned the world upside down—affecting billions of people and stopping economies in their tracks.\n  - “This is a crisis like no other.”\n- Baseline global growth projection:\n  - “we project global growth to fall to-3 percent this year.”\n  - “we project a partial recovery in 2021, with growth expected at 5.8 per cent.”\n- Uncertainty statement:\n  - “We know that it could get much worse depending on many variable factors, including the depth and duration of the pandemic.”\n  - Emphasis that a path forward can be charted despite extraordinary uncertainty."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy Recommendations",
      "content": "- Framework: Global Policy Agenda titled ‘Exceptional Times—Exceptional Action.’\n- Three priorities highlighted:\n  - (1) First—protect lives.\n    - Continue essential containment measures and prioritize health spending.\n    - Refrain from export controls on medical supplies and food.\n    - Rationale: “you cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy population.”\n  - (2) Second—protect livelihoods.\n    - Prevent liquidity pressures from turning into solvency problems.\n    - Create lifelines for households and businesses: cash transfers, credit guarantees, and adjustments to loan terms.\n    - Maintain a functioning financial system; monetary stimulus and liquidity facilities play an indispensable role.\n  - (3) Third—plan for recovery.\n    - Reduce the risk of irreversible economic scarring through policy action now.\n    - As the global economy stabilizes, coordinated fiscal stimulus will be needed to boost demand and restore growth.\n    - IMF support will address post-crisis challenges including “debt vulnerabilities, bankruptcies, unemployment, and economic inequality.”\n- Support for vulnerable countries:\n  - Many emerging markets and low-income nations have weaker health systems, are facing “record-high portfolio outflows—more than $100 billion in just the past two months,” and can cover only a portion of their external financing needs, “which are estimated to be in the trillions of dollars; and some may face an unsustainable debt burden.”\n  - International community must provide increased funding and debt service relief to create space for urgent health spending and mitigate economic impact.\n  - Global solidarity, common resolve, and coordinated international efforts are urged: “anyone’s fight against the virus is everyone’s fight.”"
    },
    {
      "heading": "The Role of the IMF",
      "content": "- Operational posture: “working around the clock—it’s all-hands-on-deck” to support 189 member countries with policy advice, technical assistance, and financial resources.\n- Capacity and actions:\n  - “We have $1 trillion in lending capacity, which we are placing at the service of our membership.”\n  - Responding to “an unprecedented number of calls for emergency financing—from more than 100 countries.”\n  - “We have just doubled access to our emergency facilities, which will allow us to meet the expected demand of about $100 billion in financing.”\n  - “Lending programs have already been approved at record speed for over 20 countries, with many more to come.”\n  - Executive Board action: “Today our Executive Board will be discussing a new short-term liquidity line—for countries with strong economic fundamentals.”\n  - Membership exploring additional tools, “including how to best use the SDR.”\n- Support for low-income countries:\n  - Revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to provide immediate debt relief on IMF obligations to low-income countries affected by the crisis.\n  - “Our Executive Board has just approved assistance to 25 countries.”\n  - Working with donors to almost triple the CCRT from $500 million to $1.4 billion to extend the duration of relief.\n  - Coordination with the G20 and the World Bank calling for a standstill of debt service to official bilateral creditors for the world’s poorest countries.\n- Governance next steps:\n  - “When Governors of the IMFC meet tomorrow, I will be seeking their endorsement for this concrete package of measures that can be deployed quickly.”"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key Statistics and Figures",
      "content": "- Global growth projections:\n  - fall to-3 percent (current year baseline)\n  - recovery at 5.8 per cent (2021 baseline)\n- Financial and operational figures:\n  - $8 trillion in fiscal actions deployed by many countries (aggregate)\n  - over $6 trillion in liquidity injections by central banks\n  - record-high portfolio outflows—more than $100 billion in just the past two months\n  - external financing needs “estimated to be in the trillions of dollars”\n  - IMF lending capacity: $1 trillion\n  - emergency financing demand expected: about $100 billion\n  - emergency lending programs approved for over 20 countries\n  - IMF membership: 189 member countries\n  - calls for emergency financing from more than 100 countries\n  - CCRT target increase: from $500 million to $1.4 billion\n  - CCRT assistance approved to 25 countries"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Closing",
      "content": "- Message of resilience and action:\n  - “In this time of crisis, we must remember that this too shall pass. We will get through this.”\n  - “How well and quickly we get through it depends on us acting now—and acting together.”\n  - “These are exceptional times; we need exceptional action.”\n\nAs prepared for delivery — Opening Remarks for Spring Meetings Press Conference, April 15, 2020\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva\n- Press Releases\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Global Policy Agenda\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference"
    }
  ],
  "bullets": [
    "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/index.md)",
    "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/index.json)",
    "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/bundle-manifest.json)",
    "Published: April 15, 2020",
    "Opening context: virtual 2020 Spring Meetings; personal wishes for health and safety; gratitude to doctors, nurses, and front-line workers.",
    "Quotation: “April is the cruelest month.”",
    "Crisis characterization:",
    "Baseline global growth projection:",
    "Uncertainty statement:",
    "Framework: Global Policy Agenda titled ‘Exceptional Times—Exceptional Action.’",
    "Three priorities highlighted:",
    "Support for vulnerable countries:",
    "Operational posture: “working around the clock—it’s all-hands-on-deck” to support 189 member countries with policy advice, technical assistance, and financial resources.",
    "Capacity and actions:",
    "Support for low-income countries:",
    "Governance next steps:",
    "Global growth projections:",
    "Financial and operational figures:",
    "Message of resilience and action:",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva)",
    "[Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[Global Policy Agenda](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2020/04/15/The-Managing-Directors-Global-Policy-Agenda-Spring-Meetings-2020-Exceptional-Times-49328)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/index.md",
    "json": "/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/index.json",
    "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2020/04/15/pr20162-exceptional-times-exceptional-action-opening-remarks-for-spring-meetings-press-conference/bundle-manifest.json"
  },
  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T23:36:46.407Z"
}