Musings From Abroad

World Bank President, David Malpass, wants debt reduction for poor countries

Published

2 years ago

November 13, 2022

The World Bank President, David Malpass on Sunday said, debt levels among low- and middle-income countries rose sharply in 2021.

Malpass revealed that China accounted for 66% of lending by official bilateral creditors. He also underscored the need to reduce the debt of poorer countries.

Malpass in an interview with Reuters also stressed that private sector creditors also needed to participate in debt reductions.

Malpass said the bank’s forthcoming International Debt Statistics report was troubling, but gave no specific numbers.

“It shows that the amount of debt grew substantially … and the amount owed to China is some 66% of the total for the official bilateral creditors,” he said, adding that Chinese entities were also big commercial creditors.

“The report makes clear that debt reduction needs to extend broadly to include the private sector and China,” Malpass said, adding that the overall debt issue would be a big topic at the upcoming meeting of G20 leaders.

“There will be a recognition of the severity of the problem,” Malpass said, although he said there had been “little uptake” of his push for an immediate freeze in debt payments when countries sought relief under the G20 common framework and other reforms aimed at speeding up debt restructuring efforts.

“There’s an urgency to getting it done so that the debt reduction can occur and Zambia can begin attracting the new investment that’s needed,” he said.

As the debt crisis continues to grow in most African countries,

A senior official of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, wants debt restructuring arrangements for Zambia and Chad completed shortly.

For the two countries, “the longer the process goes on, the harder it is for the country and the people in the country to get back on their feet.”

Many African countries depend on international creditors to fund critical aspects of their economies.

Related Topics:Debt restructuring Featured World Bank

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Musings From Abroad

Blinken to reveal UN Sudan funding additions

Published

9 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Additional financing for humanitarian aid to Sudan and initiatives to strengthen civil society in the nation, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, will be announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations on Thursday.

Blinken will make many announcements when he leads a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan on Thursday, which will centre on humanitarian aid and civilian protection, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Price, the announcements would include more money for humanitarian help, initiatives to strengthen civil society, and the return of democracy.

“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.

“So part of the reason the secretary … opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.

For almost 18 months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have been engaged in combat, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced over 12 million people from their homes and made it difficult for U.N. organisations to provide aid.

A power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces preceded a planned shift to civilian administration, which sparked the conflict in April 2023.

Although the army declined to join this year’s U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva, the warring parties did pledge to increase assistance access, which prevented any movement towards a ceasefire.

Price stated that before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month, the United States would keep collaborating with allies to enhance humanitarian access in Sudan and eventually end hostilities.

“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most – humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.

Musings From Abroad

Seeking to expand ties in Africa, Indonesia’s Prabowo attends D-8 economic meeting in Egypt

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the government, Indonesian President, Prabowo Subianto, travelled to Egypt on Tuesday to attend meetings of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, a group of eight significant Muslim developing nations.

To enhance collaboration between the nations spanning from Southeast Asia to Africa, the D-8 was formed in 1997 and consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Beginning in January 2026, Indonesia will serve as the group’s chair.

Prabowo said that he would meet with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt.

“Egypt is our close friend, our strategic partner and an important country in the Middle East,” he said before his departure, adding he would also meet the Egyptian business community.

He would go to Malaysia from Egypt and then return to Indonesia.

Since taking office in October, Prabowo has stated that his administration will uphold Indonesia’s long-standing non-alignment foreign policy.

Since winning the presidency earlier this year, he has been to more than 20 nations, including China, the US, Japan, and Russia.