UN chief, El-Sisi call for multilateral development banks reform

RIYADH: Multilateral development banks need urgent reform to help meet the financial needs of developing countries, the Egyptian president has insisted

Addressing the G20 virtual summit, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for the enhancement of MDBs’ funding capacities, the Saudi Press Association reported.

He also stressed the need to “contain” the problem of the growing sovereign debt of developing nations, including middle-income countries.

In his speech before the summit, the president outlined the need to develop and reform the global system and the international economic and financial structure, including creating effective financing mechanisms and maximizing the benefit of existing platforms.

According to SPA, El-Sisi explained that the crises the world is witnessing today carry repercussions and intersect with the “deep economic imbalances,” further impacting economic and social human rights, particularly in developing countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the notions posed by the president in his address to the summit, underscoring the need to reform the current global financial architecture, describing it as “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” according to UN News.

The secretary-general further applauded the bloc’s initiative in reforming multilateral development banks, pointing to Brazil’s focus on global governance during its presidency.

Looking to the future, Guterres insisted that “practical solutions must be tabled” at the Summit of the Future, which will occur next September.

The forum will bring together world leaders, aiming to “mend eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively tackle current challenges as well as those that have emerged in recent years.”

The UN chief also reinstated his call for G20 members to help lead the way in financial justice and applauded their support for the $500 billion annual stimulus plan to accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

UN News reported that Guterres aims to establish a “Leaders Group” to monitor the implementation of the SDG stimulus to enable $500 billion in additional long-term development finance.