ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged rich countries to support raise at least 500 billion dollars to create fiscal space for developing countries in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

In his virtual address at the Financing for Development summit at UN headquarters in New York today (Tuesday), he said the amount of 500 billion dollars should be available for developing countries.

He also called for extension of the G-20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative for at least another year but the request for forbearance under this initiative should not affect country's credit rating.

The Prime Minister said investment in sustainable infrastructure will be key to a resilient economic recovery and realization of SDGs.

He stressed the need to create a UN Infrastructure Investment Facility to mobilize an additional 1.5 Trillion dollars annually in the developing countries as the IMF estimates that developing countries will require an additional 2.5 Trillion dollars to recover from COVID-induced contraction.

Prime Minister said we must break the shackles of poverty and inequality.

He said COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting unparalleled human suffering and controlling the virus is critical to address both the health and the economic emergency.

Prime Minister said in Pakistan, our strategy of "smart lockdowns" has fortunately controlled the spread of the virus. He said no one is safe until everyone is safe. He said debt relief is one of the quickest ways to create fiscal space for developing countries.