Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, G-24 has voiced its growing concern with the prolonged weakness in the global economic recovery and increasing levels of inequality across the world.
The G-24 led by Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, rose from a meeting on Wednesday with a long list of demands, including calls for multi-pronged and holistic efforts to rally the global economy.
“A broad-based policy response from countries, including coordinated measures, is urgently needed to boost confidence and global growth. We commit to using all policy measures, including monetary and fiscal policies, and structural reforms to boost growth and global demand,” the group declared.
According to the group, multilateral actions are increasingly needed to support a stronger global recovery. “In this regard, we support further focus on the IMF’s lending toolkit and technical assistance to address diverse country needs, including instruments to address the negative impact of sharp drops in commodity prices and non-economic shocks,” the G-24 stated.
Specifically, the G-24 urged the IMF, the World Bank Group (WBG), and global financial regulators to strengthen their work toward finding concrete solutions to address the decline of correspondent banking relationships (CBRs) and avoid further financial exclusion.
The meeting also witnessed the investiture of Ato Abdulaziz Mohammed, Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation as the new Chairman of G-24.
By Olisemeka Obeche