WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Saturday that IMF members discussed ways to increase “peer pressure” on countries to follow and improve global trade rules to reduce growth-sapping uncertainty.

Georgieva told a news conference at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings that US-China trade tensions were a major topic of discussion at the gathering of financial leaders.

“We need to look into reasons on why we are not making more progress on trade. It’s not just about US-China,” she said. “The understanding was (the need for) building more peer pressure for everybody to play by the trade rule-book, and be willing to expand and improve this rule-book.”

In a statement issued after her meeting in Washington with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, Georgieva said she also supports Somalia’s efforts to achieve debt relief through the global lender’s Highly Indebted Poor Country programme.

She said Somalia was committed to making further reforms despite challenging circumstances, which were aimed at paving the way for debt relief.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2019