DOHA: The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday slammed rich countries and energy giants of the world for throttling poor countries with “predatory” interest rates and crippling fuel prices.
Speaking in Qatar’s capital, Doha, Guterres told leaders of over 40 of the most deprived states that wealthy countries should provide $500 billion a year to nations “trapped in vicious cycles” that block efforts to boost vital services and economies.
Myanmar and Afghanistan, two of the poorest countries, are not present at the meeting of 46 LDC states because UN members do not recognize their governments.
No leader from any of the major economies of the world attended the summit.
At the leaders’ summit ahead of the start of the general Least Developed Countries conference on Sunday, the UN chief hit out straight away at the way developing nations are treated by the more powerful.
“Economic development is difficult when countries are starved for resources, drowning in foreign debt, and still struggling with the injustice of an unequal COVID-19 response,” Guterres said.
UN chief says combating climate change a challenge for poor nations
Guterres said combatting climate catastrophes that the poor countries did nothing to cause is very challenging when the cost of capital is high and the financial help received is like a drop in the bucket.
“Fossil fuel giants are raking in great profits, while millions in your countries cannot afford food.”
Guterres said the poorest countries were being left behind in the “digital revolution,” and the war in Ukraine had fuelled their food and fuel prices.
“Our global financial system was designed by rich countries, largely to their benefit,” the UN chief said.
The UN leader said that many of you are excluded of capital markets by predatory interest rates.
Several presidents and ministers hit out at financing conditions for poor countries, whose debt surged in a decade to around $50 billion in 2021.
President of Malawi Lazarus Chakwera, the summit chairman, discussed “broken promises” and maintained that aid was not “a charitable act” but a “moral responsibility.”
The UN chief said that wealthy nations had failed to maintain a promise to give 0.15-0.20 percent of their Gross National Income to poor countries.
With poorer nations trapped in a “perfect storm for poverty and injustice,” Guterres said LDCs required a “minimum” of $500 billion a year to overcome their problems, build up employment-creating industries and repay debts.
