The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on international development banks to rethink their business models so funds can reach the world’s least developed countries at a fair and reasonable cost. The appeal came during the opening of a major conference in Qatar focused on the needs of the poorest nations, highlighting a shared duty to expand financing for development without imposing excessive burdens.
Guterres urged international financial institutions to pursue creative ways to broaden funding sources and to build in safeguards for emergencies. He stressed the importance of debt instruments that include contingency provisions for health crises and natural disasters, enabling governments to respond quickly without compromising debt sustainability.
He also pressed the International Monetary Fund to expedite the transfer of special drawing rights from wealthier nations to those most in need, and to push for reforms that address imbalances in the global financial system. According to the secretary-general, the current system places least developed countries at a disadvantage by accessing loans at far higher costs than those paid by many richer economies.
In his remarks, Guterres urged wealthy countries to commit substantial support for poorer nations, suggesting a substantial annual allocation to accelerate development and reduce poverty while promoting resilience and inclusive growth.
The most recent conference of the Least Developed Countries previously convened in 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis, underscoring a gap in ongoing international attention to the specific needs of the LDCs and the urgency of renewed engagement.
Public discussions on Security Council reform also featured prominently, with major economies including Australia, India, the United States, and Japan weighing in on the enlargement of the Council and how it could better reflect today’s geopolitical realities.