UN Secretary-General calls for reform of international financial architecture

Addis Ababa (The Uttam Hindu) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged for a reformed international financial architecture, highlighting the need to extend stronger financial support to Africa to address the continent's development challenges.

In a joint briefing with African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat on the outcome of the AU-UN annual conference Monday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Guterres said Africa faces challenges that are deeply rooted in history and aggravated by climate change, conflict and debt burden.

The secretary-general said the current global institutions were built at a time when most of Africa was under colonial rule, and many of those institutions need to be reformed to help Africa meet UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reports Xinhua news agency."The international financial architecture must be corrected to give more voice and power to developing countries in general, of course, African countries in particular," said Guterres, noting that more financial support should be made to help developing countries mobilise resources and meet SDGs. He said the current international financial architecture often cannot give African countries the safety net they need, whether it is protection from strangling debt or from climate catastrophe they did not cause.

Despite its rich resources, Guterres stressed that Africa remains economically constrained and lacks access to adequate concessional finance, which hampers its ability to invest in sustainable development and climate adaptation. Highlighting the need for reforming the international financial system, Guterres called for "more voice and power for developing countries, particularly African nations" within global financial institutions.

The secretary-general also announced the establishment of a joint working group between the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the AU, and the UN to help Africa bridge the digital divide. According to Guterres, it is to ensure that artificial intelligence serves as a vehicle for development, enabling African countries to "catch up" and accelerate their economic progress.

Highlighting the significant progress made in AU-UN cooperation, Faki praised the UN's commitment to bringing Africa to the forefront of global decision-making. Faki, however, stressed that Africa still struggles economically, calling for continuous efforts to reform both the UN Security Council and global financial institutions.