Today, ministers of finance and central bank governors from countries across the Global South are convening in Washington DC during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings to launch a new Borrowers’ Platform.
Mandated during last year’s UN Financing for Development conference, the platform will create a dedicated space for borrower countries to exchange knowledge, coordinate positions and amplify their collective voice on the global stage for the first time.
Mae Buenaventura, Manager of the debt justice programme at the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) said: “By organising the new Borrowers’ Platform, the Global South is signalling that the era of passive “standard-setting” by lenders is over. Whether the Borrowers’ platform becomes a true milestone depends on its courage to challenge the status quo. We can no longer allow debt to act as a “silent killer” of our future. It is time to demand a financial system that serves humanity, not just the balance sheets of the powerful.”
Patricia Miranda, Global Advocacy Director at the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Economic, Social and Climate Justice (Latindadd) said: “The borrowers’ platform is the first step towards an effective coordination and exchange between countries whose people suffer the impacts of a no-system of debt that has been centered mainly in creditors’ interests. The Global South finally has a body that will address, as a bloc, one of the major unresolved challenges in this context of crisis: Debt.”
Catherine Mithia, Policy Analyst and Advocacy Officer, Sovereign Debt Management-African Forum and Network on Debt and Management (AFRODAD) said: “The launch of the Borrowers’ Platform is timely, but its value will depend on whether it reinforces – not distracts from – ongoing reform efforts. It must anchor itself in established positions by borrowing countries, particularly those promoted by the African Union and agreed in the Compromiso de Sevilla, and channel borrower countries’ momentum toward structural solutions – particularly a UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt as a lasting, rules-based response to recurring debt crises.”
Iolanda Fresnillo, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) said: “The launch of the Borrowers’ Platform is a major milestone in rebalancing power inequalities in global economic governance. This long overdue initiative is a first step towards breaking creditor domination over decision-making on sovereign debt issues. Now, borrowing countries will be better positioned to advance towards a fairer debt architecture.” Enditem
Source: World Bank
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