The measure had already been extended twice, in September 2020 and then in March 2021.
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Third extension. The International Monetary Fund will maintain more flexible access to its emergency funds for an additional 18 months, to help countries with persistent difficulties linked to the crisis caused by Covid-19, he announced Thursday, December 23 in a communicated. The measure, introduced in April 2020, had already been extended twice, in September 2020 and then in March 2021. It will finally be effective until the end of June 2023.
The IMF’s emergency aid tools are the Rapid Credit Facility (FCR) and the Rapid Finance Instrument (IFR). The first is interest-free and accessible to low-income members, the second is accessible to all members of the International Monetary Fund. Both mechanisms can be disbursed very quickly, to help member countries implement policies to deal with emergencies.
On the other hand, the IMF’s board of directors allowed “to all other access limits that had been temporarily increased to return to their pre-pandemic levels from January 1, 2022, as planned”. According to the institution, “this decision reflects the expected gradual transition of emergency funding linked to a pandemic” towards regular loans.