Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the group of 20 (G20), the world's 20 largest economies, held a video conference to address the health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

After a virtual meeting, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said that the actions to freeze both principal repayments and interest payments will free up more than $20 billion for the countries to spend on improving their health systems and fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The suspension of debt payments will start on May 1 and creditors will also consider a potential extension during this year, considering a report on the liquidity needs of those countries by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. (ILKHA)