Finance and development ministers from around the world next week will warn of considerable downside risks to the global economy, and call for an effort to protect the world's poor.
With Europe flirting with deflation, Japan not far from recession and a slowing economy in China, the world's No. 2 economy, there are worries the recovery from the deep 2007-2009 crisis is losing traction, according to the draft of the planned communique, Reuters reported. "The global economy remains on a cautious watch and is subject to considerable downside risks that could dent global growth and confidence," said the draft of a communique prepared for release by the joint IMF-World Bank Development Committee.
"The path to economic growth, job creation and shared prosperity will require a sustained multilateral effort to protect the poorest and most vulnerable."
A copy of the draft, which was obtained by Reuters, praised the World Bank for its response to the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 3,400 people in West Africa and called for quick and coordinated support to mitigate its impact. The statement said 20 percent of the impoverished countries receiving aid from the World Bank's fund for the poorest have not shown per capita output growth since 2000 and are particularly in danger of being hit hard if the global recovery founders. It urged the bank and the International Monetary Fund to monitor low-income countries' vulnerability to shocks, including the dangers their public debts might pose.
