China, U.S. to participate in first meeting of new debt roundtable on Feb. 17

China, U.S. to participate in first meeting of new debt roundtable on Feb. 17

Officials from China, India, Saudi Arabia and Group of Seven wealthy nations will participate in a first virtual meeting of a new sovereign debt roundtable on Friday, three sources familiar with the plans said on Monday.

The roundtable will also include officials from countries that have requested debt treatments under the Group of 20 common framework - Ethiopia, Zambia and Ghana - as well as middle-income countries such as Sri Lanka, Suriname and Ecuador, which have faced their own debt crises, the sources said.

The meeting will be co-chaired by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and India, the current leader of the Group of 20 , and comes a week before G20 finance officials are due to gather in Bengaluru, India, from Feb. 23-25, with an in-person meeting of the roundtable expected on Feb. 25.

Brazil, which will lead the G20 next year, is also taking part, one of the sources said.

The roundtable will include the Paris Club of official creditors and private sector participants - the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the International Capital Markets Association and two private-sector financial institutions that have asked not to be identified, the source added.

Creation of the body comes amid growing frustration about the