Even though the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the US and European Union has captured the world’s attention, one should not lose sight of the pandemic and its associated health, economic and financial stability challenges in the rest of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic advances globally, Africa and South Asia are witnessing a surge in the number of new cases lately, and these regions could soon become its next epicenters in the coming weeks. The emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are facing a…

Trade Ministers from G20 countries met on 30^th March, days after the heads of states and governments of the major economies for an Extraordinary Summit meeting, to take a coordinated stand in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In these extraordinary times, the Trade Ministers agreed that the “international community to step up cooperation and coordination to protect human life and lay the foundations for a strong economic recovery and a sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.”

In times when the global economic growth is adversely impacted on account of…

In March 2020, foreign investors pulled out a record Rs.1182 billion (US$16 bn) from the Indian financial markets as the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic triggered panic selling across all emerging markets. As per official data released by the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) together pulled out Rs.619 bn ($8.3 bn) from the equity segment and Rs.603 bn ($8.1 bn) from the debt segment in March (see Table 1).

The capital outflows from the Indian markets in March alone were larger…

The first-ever extraordinary virtual G20 leaders’ summit took place on March 26, 2020. The Summit was convened by Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair, to develop collective global solutions in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Singularly focused on the need to develop a global response to the pandemic, the Summit did not discuss the Saudi G20 Presidency agenda titled “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All” or previous commitments made by the G20.

Fortunately, the much-anticipated animosity between the US and China over the origins of the…

On March 26, 2020, an extraordinary virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit will take place to discuss global plans to tackle the public health and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The Leaders’ Summit will follow a virtual meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors that was held on March 23 and a virtual G20 Sherpa meeting to be held on March 25.

As anticipated, the G20 finance ministers did not issue a joint declaration after the call. Media reports suggest that no consensus was reached on releasing…