Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Home
  • Markets & Companies
  • Business & Economy
  • INNOVATION
  • EMPIRE
  • OPINION
  • CULTURAL CURRENTS
  • Features
  • AE Magazine
  • CORPORATE RENDEZVOUS
Financial Street
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Markets & Companies
  • Business & Economy
  • INNOVATION
  • EMPIRE
  • OPINION
  • CULTURAL CURRENTS
  • Features
  • AE Magazine
  • CORPORATE RENDEZVOUS
Financial Street
No Result
View All Result

Debt distress puts SDGs’ at risk – UN 

*IMF, AfDB others seek debt suspension for low-income countries

Ehime Alex by Ehime Alex
April 1, 2021
in Economy, Front Page
0
Lagos’ debt stock stands at N158bn
2
SHARES
14
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on WhatsApp

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has warned that debt distress among member states places achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at risk.

Guterres said this at a meeting of several heads of state and government that the UN and heads of multilateral development finance institutions held recently, according to a statement released by African Development Bank.

READ ALSO

Zelenskyy names Ezekwesili, others ‘Grain from Ukraine’ envoys

Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia

The meeting was used to call for expansion of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, under which low-income countries did not pay debt during the Coronavirus Disease crisis.

Read Also:

  • Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia
    Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections –…
  • Afrinvest, Interswitch, Obiano, UBA lead top 10 performing brands
    Afrinvest, Interswitch, Obiano, UBA lead top 10 performing…
  • Scholarly opportunities in W’Africa and youth development
    Scholarly opportunities in W’Africa and youth development

The UN scribe, alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica, convened the meeting attended by the President of the AfDB Group, Akinwumi Adesina;  Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva; President of World Bank, David Malpass; Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Ángel Gurría: Director-General of World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Mauricio Claver-Carone.

Commending ongoing efforts to widen debt relief and improve access to special drawing rights, Guterres called for more support.

He said, “I’m calling for bolder and more ambitious measures. A new debt mechanism could provide a menu of options, including debt swaps, buybacks and cancellations.

“This is also the moment to tackle longstanding weaknesses in debt architecture.”

Holness corroborated Guterres, warning, “Debt servicing has come at tremendous socio-economic cost to our populations, which have borne the burden of steep costs in public expenditure.”

Praising the G20’s decision to extend the debt suspension initiative, he said, “I believe there is a sound basis for it to be further extended to next year.  Consideration should also be given to expanding its beneficiaries to include highly-indebted middle-income countries.”

Economic recovery would require a comprehensive approach to increasing fiscal space for poor nations, Georgieva noted.

This must include “measures to include revenue collection, spending efficiency, the business environment, as well as very substantial international support, grants and concessional lending,” she said.

According to her, the IMF had discussed a proposal to allocate additional $650bn in special drawing rights, enabling member countries with strong economic fundamentals to divert reserves to low-income and vulnerable countries.

On his part, Adesina said Africa’s economic recovery would hinge on securing equitable access to vaccines and developing solutions for debt distress.

“Africa needs debt relief, debt restructuring and debt sustainability,” he said, pointing out that in the absence of re-allocations, low-income countries would receive only about 3.2 per cent of special drawing rights.

He further called for the formation of an African financial stability mechanism, modelled on the European Stability Mechanism,  to provide jointly guaranteed emergency support.

“The mechanism will provide the much-needed fiscal safety net for African economies and help to avoid regional spillover effect of countries falling into illiquidity and insolvency,” Adesina added.

“Trade and debt sustainability are closely linked,” said the WTO’s Iweala.

“By closing off export opportunities and lowering commodity prices, COVID-19 has worsened debt dynamics for many developing countries.”

She called on governments to “deliver results” at the WTO this year, to reinforce the rules of global trade and pave the way for low-income countries to earn foreign exchange.

Tags: AfDBDebtIMFUN

Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

Unsubscribe
Ehime Alex

Ehime Alex

Ehime Alex reports the Capital Market, Energy, and ICT. He is a skilled webmaster and digital media enthusiast.

Related Posts

Zelenskyy
EMPIRE

Zelenskyy names Ezekwesili, others ‘Grain from Ukraine’ envoys

January 27, 2023
Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia
EMPIRE

Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia

January 26, 2023
Brands in Nigeria
Front Page

Afrinvest, Interswitch, Obiano, UBA lead top 10 performing brands

January 25, 2023
Rhodes Scholarships
CULTURAL CURRENTS

Scholarly opportunities in W’Africa and youth development

January 24, 2023
Christmas and New Year holidays
CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

Frustration of bank customers during public holidays

January 17, 2023
Front Page

OAA agency celebrates as founder joins tourism experts

January 14, 2023
Next Post
Pantami commissions NCC, USPF, NITDA projects

Nigerians without NIN risk 14yrs jail – Pantami


Naira4Dollar Rates
ADVERTISEMENT

RECENT STORIES

Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy names Ezekwesili, others ‘Grain from Ukraine’ envoys

January 27, 2023
Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia

Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia

January 26, 2023
Brands in Nigeria

Afrinvest, Interswitch, Obiano, UBA lead top 10 performing brands

January 25, 2023
Rhodes Scholarships

Scholarly opportunities in W’Africa and youth development

January 24, 2023
Christmas and New Year holidays

Frustration of bank customers during public holidays

January 17, 2023

OAA agency celebrates as founder joins tourism experts

January 14, 2023
Ehizua Hub

Ehizua Hub, Igbinedion launch IUO Okada Hub

January 14, 2023

TRENDING

  • Brands in Nigeria

    Afrinvest, Interswitch, Obiano, UBA lead top 10 performing brands

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Scholarly opportunities in W’Africa and youth development

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ehizua Hub, Igbinedion launch IUO Okada Hub

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Absence of sacrifice hurting our polity, elections – Enechionyia

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Case for petty trading and investment in Nigeria

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Financial Street

© Financial Street 2021. All Rights Reserved.

More Links

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE
  • PERSONAL FINANCE
  • MARKETS & COMPANIES
    • APPOINTMENTS
    • COMMODITIES
    • COMPANIES
  • BUSINESS & ECONOMY
    • AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY
    • AGRO-ECONOMY
    • AVIATION
    • BRANDS
    • CONSUMER GOODS
    • ECONOMY
    • ENERGY
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FINANCIAL INCLUSION
    • INSURANCE & PENSIONS
    • INVESTMENT
    • MANUFACTURING
    • MARITIME
    • MONEY
    • MSMEs
    • PRODUCT REVIEW
    • STARTUPS
  • CULTURAL CURRENTS
  • EMPIRE
  • CORPORATE RENDEZVOUS