Washington: On October 30, 2020, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved without a meeting a second six-month tranche of debt service relief for Mali under the Assistance Trust Fund and disaster response (ARC trust fund) .

This approval follows the first six-month tranche (April 14 to October 13, 2020) which was approved on April 13, 2020 (see press release no. 20/151) and allows the disbursement of donations under the ARC trust fund for payment of eligible IMF debt service that falls due between October 14, 2020 and April 13, 2021 (estimated at 7.50 million SDRs, or $10.59 million)

The debt service relief will free up financial resources to continue building the country's medical care capacity and addressing the social and economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This approval closes a list of 28 low-income countries that received the second six-month tranche of debt service relief under the ARC trust fund on October 2, 2020 (see press release n° 20/ 304) . Approval for Mali was delayed due to the coup that took place on August 18, 2020 and the time needed to form the transitional government.