UN Secretary General: The IMF and World Bank "Need to Reform" Developed Countries | Underdeveloped Countries | Secretary General
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently published an article criticizing the insufficient support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for underdeveloped countries, and calling on these two global multilateral financial institutions to make bold reforms.
France is scheduled to host a financial summit in the capital Paris next week, inviting leaders from multiple countries to discuss issues such as international multilateral financial institution reform. According to the Associated Press on the 17th, Guterres delivered an "in-depth analysis" on IMF and World Bank reforms before the Paris Summit, which can be considered an "unusual move".
Guterres pointed out that the existing structures and rules of the IMF and World Bank unfairly favor developed countries, while underdeveloped countries benefit far less from these two institutions than developed countries.
Guterres said that the COVID-19 epidemic has brought a "stress test" to the IMF and the World Bank, and the performance of these two institutions in assisting less developed countries to cope with the epidemic was "obviously unsuccessful".
The data he listed shows that during the pandemic, the Group of Seven, considered a representative of developed countries, received a total of $280 billion in funding from the IMF, while some least developed countries received only about $8 billion in funding. The total population of the G7 is about 770 million, while the total population of the least developed countries mentioned above is about 1.1 billion.
He said that the difference in support for developed and underdeveloped countries mentioned above is in line with the existing rules of the IMF, but "morally speaking, it is wrong.".
It is time for the IMF and the World Bank to correct long-standing mistakes and biases and injustices rooted in the existing international financial architecture. Guterres said he called for thorough reforms by the IMF and the World Bank, including increasing the representation of developing countries on their executive boards, advancing IMF share reform, and improving the use of funds.
According to the Associated Press, neither the IMF nor the World Bank directly commented on Guterres' criticism and suggestions, but many experts agree with Guterres' views.
Maurice Kugler, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in the United States, said that for a long time, the President of the World Bank has been nominated by the President of the United States as a US citizen, while the position of IMF President is held by Europeans. The insufficient support from the IMF and World Bank for the countries most in need of assistance is a reflection of this "long-term sitting of the US and Europe" governance structure.
Richard Cohen, Director of the United Nations Program at the International Crisis Research Organization, said that the situation where the United States and Europe control the decision-making power of the IMF and World Bank, and African countries only have "very little voting power" has long caused dissatisfaction, and many developing countries have complained that the lending rules of these two institutions have increased their debt burden.
The IMF and World Bank were established after World War II and are considered the two major international financial pillars of the Bretton Woods system led by the United States. In recent years, an increasing number of emerging economies have questioned whether the rules and structures of these two institutions are in line with the current global development situation, and there have been constant calls for reform.
