South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit is expected to take concrete steps toward reforming the global financial system while tackling the widening gap in global wealth and income inequality.
Speaking at a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday, Ramaphosa said South Africa’s G20 presidency aims to “foster a more stable, effective, and resilient international financial architecture.”
One of the key outcomes anticipated from the Johannesburg summit later this month, he explained, is “an agreement on strengthening multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and African Development Bank.” This effort will build on initiatives from Brazil’s G20 presidency to enhance these institutions’ effectiveness in helping countries achieve their sustainable development goals, according to Xinhua news agency.
Ramaphosa emphasized the need to address debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries, which he said limit fiscal space, hinder efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, and constrain investment in growth and development. “We expect the summit to make a political commitment to address these debt vulnerabilities,” he said. He added that the Johannesburg Leaders’ Declaration is expected to include “a commitment to further strengthen the implementation of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment in a predictable, timely, and coordinated manner.”
The summit will also urge the international community to support countries facing liquidity challenges despite having sustainable debt, under a strong reform agenda.
On the issue of inequality, Ramaphosa noted that the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Wealth Inequality, chaired by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, submitted a landmark report this week. “The committee provided a comprehensive analysis of global inequality and recommended specific actions that leaders need to take,” he said. These include reforming international economic rules, ensuring fair taxation of multinationals and the ultra-wealthy, and establishing “a new international and independent panel to monitor inequality trends and ensure effective policies are implemented.”
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