G20 agree to boost IMF war chest by $650 bn amid Covid-19 pandemic

The world's financial leaders will agree on Wednesday to boost the resources of the International Monetary Fund by $650 billion so it can better help vulnerable countries deal with the effects of the COVIOD-19 pandemic, a draft communique showed.

The draft, to be endorsed by financial ministers and central bank governors of the world's 20 biggest economies, also returned to a pledge to fight protectionism in world trade, a reference dropped since March 2016 on the insistence of the administration of former U.S. president Donald Trump.

The draft, seen by Reuters, also sharpens the language on tackling climate change, another topic watered down in G20 statements during the Trump presidency.

G20 financial leaders will also agree to extend for a final time a debt-servicing suspension for the world's most vulnerable countries until the end of 2021, the draft showed.