AfDB Urges Global Financial Reform at Seville Conference
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has called for urgent reforms to the global financial architecture to tackle Africa’s development financing challenges and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Bank participated in the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), where a delegation led by Kevin Chika Urama, AfDB Vice President and Chief Economist for Economic Governance & Knowledge Management, highlighted the need for sustainable, long-term financing for the continent.
Speaking during panel discussions, Urama emphasised that Official Development Assistance alone is insufficient for Africa’s development. He urged the international financial community to agree on mechanisms to sustainably increase concessional development finance.
The AfDB presented recommendations to reform global financial and debt systems, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a key example. African countries collectively received only 4.5 per cent of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, leaving the continent under-resourced during a critical period. Urama stressed the importance of low-cost, long-term financing, faster debt resolution, and inclusive participation in global decision-making.
The Bank also highlighted the need for domestic resource mobilisation through better tax collection, efficient public spending, combating illicit financial flows, and leveraging natural and human capital.
In addition to panels on global finance, the delegation participated in sessions on accelerating Africa’s development in a multipolar world. Dr Alexandre Kopin presented the “Strategic Framework on Key Actions to Achieve Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa,” a report produced jointly by the AfDB, African Union Commission, and African Union Development Agency/NEPAD, outlining a strategic vision for the continent’s sustainable development.
The AfDB called for closer cooperation between the World Bank, IMF, and regional development banks, alongside innovative use of risk capital to mobilise private investment, as key steps to reform the global financial system in favour of Africa’s growth.
