Venezuela requests emergency funding offered by IMF

President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro officially requested $ 5 billion of the emergency funding offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen the response capacity of the Venezuelan health system to contain COVID-19. Venezuela’s Economy and Finance Minister Simon Zerpa explained on his Twitter account @SimonZerpaD that this decision was made in the face of the illegal criminal sanctions that froze Venezuela’s resources amounting to more than $ 5 billion. He stressed that the Venezuelan government is in contact with multilateral organizations that have offered their support amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The request made by President Nicolás Maduro to the IMF is to use the available emergency funding available for the member countries and offered by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva,” explained Minister Zerpa. The Venezuelan finance minister highlighted that “if we obtain financing, we will keep the integrity of our economic sovereignty without compromising the Plan for Economic Recovery, Growth and Prosperity,” which is directly linked to the policy of sovereignty provided for by the Constitution. The Venezuelan government has ensured minute-by-minute monitoring of COVID-19, and President Maduro expressed in his letter to the IMF that he’s confident that in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the mutual support among the countries of the world, Venezuela will face and overcome this difficult situation, hoping that “we will see our future dreams come true thanks to our common work and fate.” As of Tuesday morning, the Venezuelan government had confirmed 33 coronavirus cases in the country. Most of them came from Europe and Colombia. Therefore, with the cooperation and responsibility of all Venezuelans, the Bolivarian Government will keep the measures implemented to prevent coronavirus in the country, including a nationwide collective quarantine. Ministry of People’s Power for Economy and Finance