LONDON: The finance ministers of 11 countries including Britain and Japan called Wednesday for “coordinated emergency support” to help countries hit by disruptions from the war in the Middle East.
“We call on the IMF and World Bank to provide a coordinated emergency support offer for countries in need, tailored to country circumstances and drawing on the full range and flexibility of their toolkits,” the ministers said in a joint statement issued by the UK government.
“Renewed hostilities, a widening of the conflict or continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz would pose serious additional risks to global energy security, supply chains, and economic and financial stability,” said the statement.
“Even with a durable resolution of the conflict, impacts on growth, inflation and markets will persist.”
“We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine and our determination to maintain economic pressure on Russia,” it said.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, continues to negatively impact the global economy. Russia must not benefit from this conflict, and as market conditions allow to avoid exacerbating disruptions to supply chains and energy prices, we will continue collaborating on ways to increase pressure.”
The countries that signed the statement were Australia, Finland, Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.
AFP