United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says the current international financial system is “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair.” He stressed: “There is a systemic and unjust bias in global economic and financial frameworks in favor of rich countries, which is naturally generating great frustration in the developing world.”
UN Secretary-General Calls for Reform of Global Financial System
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who served as the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, has called for a reform of the global financial system.
He shared during a press conference on Sunday in Hiroshima, Japan, where he attended the Group of Seven (G7) summit: “My message to G7 leaders is clear: while the economic picture is uncertain everywhere, rich countries cannot ignore the fact that more than half the world — the vast majority of countries — are suffering through a deep financial crisis.”
The UN secretary-general added:
There is a systemic and unjust bias in global economic and financial frameworks in favor of rich countries, which is naturally generating great frustration in the developing world.
“Rich countries recovered from the economic impact of the pandemic with expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. Trillions and trillions were spent. Basically, they printed money and spent their way out of trouble,” Guterres continued. “But developing countries, many with substantial debts, were unable to do so. If they did, they would have seen their currencies sinking.”
Emphasizing “the needs for reform of the international financial system,” the UN secretary-general explained that “the Bretton Woods system and the Security Council reflect the power relations of 1945.” However, he stressed:
This has changed. The economy has grown … The global financial architecture became outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair.
“What I believe is clear. It’s that there is a growing conscience in developed countries — and I felt it in the G7 — that not enough is being done, both to reform outdated institutions and, at the same time, to … remove the frustration of the Global South [Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania] by an effective policy of solidarity with the Global South,” the UN secretary-general concluded.
Do you agree with the UN secretary-general that the current financial system is “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair”? Let us know in the comments section below.
