- Insists on fairer quota system in international financial architecture
BRASILIA: TANZANIA has called for more debt relief mechanisms, grants and concessional loans that address the country’s needs and vulnerabilities.
The call was made by President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the G20 leaders’ summit during the first session on the fight against hunger and poverty, held on Monday at the Museum of Modern Art – Mam Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
President Samia insisted on the need for a fairer quota system in the existing international financial architecture.
In her address, President Samia also made specific requests for the reallocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to African Financial Institutions, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), which would help drive much-needed development.
“We also support bolstered partnerships such as the G20’s Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, a partnership to foster innovation and inclusive growth,” President Samia said.
President Samia pointed out the paradox of a world of plenty, where Africa continues to face dire challenges, including unsustainable levels of poverty, starvation, diseases, malnutrition and underproductivity.
She said that the most youthful populations in Africa are particularly affected by crises and global policies that no only increase food insecurity but also stifle competitiveness, limit access to markets and restrict the availability of much-needed technology.
Moreover, Dr Samia expressed optimism that global governance reforms could lead to fairer representation and better access to resources that would allow developing nations to eradicate poverty.
“This world if left as it is, the question we will ask in 2030 will not be how far did we fall short of reaching the SDGs, but rather how many more people have the world left behind,” she noted.
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Dr Samia reaffirmed her belief that a fairer, just and sustainable world could only come about when developing countries like Tanzania receive the necessary support, resources and representation to drive sustainable development forward. She further said that Tanzania, despite its challenges, has made significant strides in transforming its agri-food systems.
“With 61.5 per cent of our workforce in agriculture, our efforts raised the sectors growth rate to 4.2 per cent, brought food self-sufficiency levels to a high of 128 per cent and reduced poverty levels to 26.4 per cent in 2023,” Dr Samia added.
She acknowledged that challenges remain, particularly in the areas of mechanisation, fertilisation and research and development, adding that with further targeted support, Tanzania could better harness innovation, build resilience and achieve more inclusive and meaningful growth.
On the other hand, President Samia stressed that the gathering of world leaders at the G20 summit was a testament to the collective commitment to change the current trajectory of global development.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies yesterday discussed sustainable development and the transition to cleaner energy, as they aim to increase the odds of a successful deal to address global warming at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan.
The host of the COP29 climate summit a day earlier had made a plea for G20 countries to send a positive signal on the need to tackle climate change and provide clear mandates to help save talks that had bogged down in Baku, Azerbaijan.
With the world on track for its warmest year on record, leaders are seeking to shore up efforts to address climate change before Donald Trump retakes the US presidency in January.
He is reportedly preparing to exit the Paris Agreement on climate change and roll back US policy on global warming.
In a “joint statement” issued late Monday, the G20 leaders called for rapidly and substantially increasing climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources to pay for the response to climate change.
G20 leaders agreed that COP29 negotiators need to reach a deal on a new financial goal for how much money rich nations must provide to poorer developing nations in climate finance.
The G20 statement said nations need to resolve the issue but they did not indicate what the solution should be at the UN summit slated to end on Friday.
Economists suggest that the goal should be at least 1 trillion US dollars annually. Developed countries, including in Europe, argue that the contributor base needs to be expanded to include richer developing countries like China and richer Middle Eastern countries to agree an ambitious goal.
