 During the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund IMF and the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group held earlier this month, the Government of St. Lucia joined small island developing states CIDs to bid for more relevant interventions contributing to their economic agenda of sustainable and equitable growth. The IMF and the World Bank's assistance to CIDs, including St. Lucia, since the pandemic comprised the institution of a debt service suspension initiative and provision of funds under the rapid response facility towards budgetary support and the healthcare response to COVID-19. This initial financing has focused on the health impact of the crisis through the procurement of equipment and supplies, strengthening health systems and the expansion of social protection for vulnerable groups. On Wednesday, during a press briefing on the IMF World Bank annual meetings at GIS Studios, Hon. Bushasini said that these recent offerings were not adequate as there are other ways in which development partners can assist. Some of these include reviewing the instruments that are used to assess debt sustainability, the dominance of the debt-to-GDP ratio and per capita income skewed to discussion and do not differentiate between a fiscal position that a country has led versus a fiscal position driven by inescapable responses to the economic shocks. Ring fencing of all catastrophic debt. One proposal with respect to assessing solvency and fiscal performance is to ring fence all catastrophic debt from debt calculations and to use a moving average of GDP to compute the debt-to-GDP ratio. Hon. Bushasini says simulations of such a metric would closely track the growth domestic product but in times of shocks smooth out fluctuations. The government of St. Lucia joined small island developing states to also recommend establishing a development and resilience-building fund. Despite significant progress with respect to infrastructure and economic development, the Caribbean has been hampered by natural disasters due to climate change and other economic shocks. This fund would help SIDS in the region overcome these hurdles. The Prime Minister also advocated for removing institutional impediments to SIDS. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the dependency of the region on tourism industry and its related services. With limited global travel and low levels of visitor spending and the impact on the region is significant. Caribbean countries have tried to diversify away from tourism to financial services and related industries but these efforts have often been stymied by the disproportionate international scrutiny and regulation which have impeded the development of these sectors. The Prime Minister says his government hopes for a speedy and favorable response from IMF and World Bank officials to bolster ongoing budget considerations within the Ministry of Finance. The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund IMF and the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group were held from the 12th to the 18th of October 2020, primarily on virtual platform bringing together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development and aid effectiveness.