UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the creation of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said his spokesman.

Guterres congratulated IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and the Executive Board for approving the new RST effective May 1, said spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.

"The RST builds in a long-term perspective and will support developing countries and vulnerable middle-income countries in addressing issues such as climate change and the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, while also improving resilience to future shocks," the statement said.

"A long-term perspective is needed if we are to address not only the current three-dimensional crises but retain hope of rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals," it added.