UN calls for global reforms to assist PNG

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week called for urgent global financial reform to support Papua New Guinea’s post-COVID recovery and development.

 In response to a question about future UN support for Papua New Guinea’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres emphasised the need for global financial reform to better support developing nations.

He stated that while the UN Country Team in Papua New Guinea is focused on supporting the government’s strategies and policies, the broader goal is to advocate for systemic change in international financial institutions. He called for stronger participation of developing countries in these institutions and for more resources to be directed toward them.

“We need to multiply the volume of resources that multilateral development banks provide to developing countries by three,” Guterres said, referencing a recent meeting in Seville.

He also stressed the importance of leveraging private finance and investment to de-risk developing countries and encourage more investment in them.

The UN chief reiterated that while the organization has limited resources, it is committed to supporting Papua New Guinea’s recovery. However, he emphasized that long-term solutions require reforming the international financial system to create greater justice and reduce inequality, ensuring that countries like Papua New Guinea can thrive.

“Well, first of all, all the UN Country Team we have no UN agenda for Papua New Guinea. Our agenda is to support the government in its strategies and policies, and all our UN agencies are doing their best to fully support the government.

“But on top of that, we remain with our strong advocacy for the Reform of International Financial Institutions. It is absolutely essential that developing countries have a stronger participation, and that participation being translated into more resources to developing countries that lead them to overcome the enormous challenges of development.

“We need to multiply, as it was proposed in the meeting that recently took place in Sevilla, multiplied by three, the volume of resources multilateral development banks put at the disposal of developing countries.

“And at the same time, we need to have multilateral development banks being able to leverage much more private finance and private investment in support of developing countries, de-risking them in order to make sure that they see it’s worth investing in developing countries.

“So, on one hand, with our meagre resources, but our total commitment, we are here to support the government. On the other hand, we’ll be making global advocacy for the creation of justice and less inequality.”

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