Kenyan President William Ruto has appealed to the G7 to support efforts to revamp global lending system to offer soft repayment plan for debt-burdened developing countries, especially African nations.
“Far too many countries are forced to choose between repaying creditors and investing in their economy and people,” Ruto told the G7 summit talks in Puglia, southern Italy on Friday.
Heritage Times HT reports that African countries are facing high debt profile amidst increasing economic downturn.
Nations on the continent have repeatedly called for more equitable distribution of resources to better tackle poverty, cope with climate calamities and other challenges.
The leaders of the G7 wealthy nations had converged this week against the backdrop of global and political instability, with Africa, climate change and development being at the front burner.
The Kenyan leader urged the G7 to “advocate strongly” for a rethink of the global financial system that will give the Global South “access to concessional, longterm and agile finance, and a greater voice and role in decision making.”
Ruto urged that the vulnerability of countries should be taken into consideration in distributing financing.
“We find ourselves in the grip of relentless global challenges of unprecedented magnitude,” he said.
The East African country and others in Horn of Africa is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change. It also faces extreme weather conditions that reoccur with increased frequency and intensity.
“Only effective collective action by the international community can offer a reasonable chance of managing and overcoming these challenges,” Ruto said.
He also called on the G7 to “embrace” African calls for reforms at the UN Security Council where the continent is pushing for a permanent seat.
Developing nations have repeatedly said they are not having a say on the council, where the five permanent members wield veto power, and argue the imbalance risks making the body obsolete.
But so far, consistent calls for reform have come to nothing, and experts doubt that the permanent five will give up their powers.
“No global institution can claim to champion humanity’s universal values in 2024 while perpetuating the systematic marginalisation of 1.4 billion people from Africa’s 54 nations,” Ruto said.
The UK, China, France, Russia and the United States are permanent members of the council, and sit with 10 non-permanent members elected by the UN general assembly for two-year terms.
