IMF chief calls for global cooperation to fill gaps in commodity, energy supplies

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has called for greater global cooperation to fill the gaps in commodity and energy supplies caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking at the Doha Forum during a session, the IMF chief said Russia’s invasion and the resulting sanctions on Moscow have forced the world’s poorest to bear the worst of the crisis as they grapple with inflated food costs and scarcer jobs.
“When prices jump, and poor people cannot feed their families, they will be on the streets. One thing we know about trouble in one place, it travels, it doesn’t stay there,” she said.
“We all should work together as oil producers, gas producers and food producers today are in a position to help reduce this uncertainty,” the IMF chief said.
Citing Ukraine’s importance as a top wheat exporter in the world, she urged a swift resolution to the war.
“The faster the tanks are out from Ukraine, the faster the tractors will be in. We need by July the harvest in Ukraine to contribute to the stability of food prices,” she said.
Georgieva stressed that comprehensive multilateralism is the approach for dealing with the Ukraine crisis at a time when the world is still recovering from the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis.
While the world hoped to reduce inflation rates and increased growth to find them in a better position, she said the war in Ukraine caused various economic strains.
The geopolitical tensions create great pressure on recovery efforts so it is important not to lose sight of the group that will pay the price, namely the poor, she said.
She said that the world will pay the price for this war, especially in light of the large flows of Ukrainian immigrants.
Highlighting the need to end this war, she pointed to the number of displaced people from Ukraine that has reached 3 million people.
She said that the world, despite its great financial capabilities, has become more fragile in the face of challenges and crises, and everyone needs to think about the rights of future generations.

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