UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, has called on the world’s aid agencies to enable the developing countries to prepare viable and sustainable infrastructure projects aimed at addressing the triple crises Covid-19, environmental and economic that hit them disproportionately.
“It is vital that the recovery should be a pathway to a sustainable global economy, in particular by investment in sustainable, quality and resilient infrastructure, which will also create decent jobs and reduce poverty,”Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told a meeting of ministers and governors of Group of 24, which deals with international monetary and development finance issues.
While the developed economies had injected around $17 trillion to their economies, the developing countries, needing an estimated $4.3 trillion, have been able to mobilize around $100 billion in additional financing so far, he said.
“Sustainable global recovery will not be possible if the majority of the world’s population is left behind,” Aamir Khan said.
In this regard, he said the vaccine inequity must end and that adequate financing is critical.
To this, the G-77 proposed: mobilization of larger concessional assistance to developing countries; extension of the debt service suspension by all creditors and early action to ease unsustainable debt; and the voluntary re-allocation of at least $250 billion of the un-utilized new SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) to the developing countries.
Aamir Khan, in Pakistan’s capacity as G-77 chairman, also proposed expanded lending by the multilateral development banks (MDBs); and their recapitalization; Reduction in the market borrowing costs for developing countries; earliest fulfillment of the commitment to provide $100 billion-plus in annual climate finance, aiming to achieve a balance between mitigation and adaptation, and access to private capital for sustainable development projects.
“To this end, the MDBs, the UN and its agencies, and other relevant development actors should enable the developing countries to prepare viable, sustainable infrastructure projects, which can access both public and private finance,” he added.