US Treasury head calls for reform in IMF, World Bank

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged additional reforms Wednesday for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"I call on the IMF, with appropriate support from the World Bank, to advance ongoing work to enhance debt transparency, develop guidelines on the use of collateralized debt, assist countries in improving debt management, promote more timely information-sharing of debt sustainability analyses, and develop process improvements to the Common Framework and debt restructuring for low- and middle-income countries," said Yellen.

"As we look to the IMF and World Bank to better address these challenges, it is imperative that this work continue to support low-income countries. Low-income countries continue to face strains resulting from rising global food insecurity driven by climate change, conflict, and COVID-19-related economic disruptions that have been only exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine," she said.

Yellen noted that the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program recently allocated $220 million in agricultural investment grants for projects in Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia.