At the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers’ Roundtable in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa urged member states to push for reforms in the global financial system that would curb the steep borrowing costs faced by developing countries, especially those in the Global South.
Mr Ablakwa pointed out that African countries pay more than eight times the borrowing costs of countries in the Global North, a disparity that deepens debt burdens and hampers the continent’s ability to fund essential development projects.
He argued that the current global financial architecture places developing economies at a disadvantage, with sovereign credit ratings and high‑risk premiums inflating borrowing costs and limiting access to investment.
The minister also questioned the sustainability of existing debt relief arrangements, citing the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative launched in 2000. He noted that despite debt relief secured under the initiative, several African countries had returned to similar debt challenges barely two decades later.
Mr Ablakwa stressed that comprehensive reforms are needed to help African countries secure affordable financing for critical sectors such as infrastructure, education, healthcare and industrialisation, while creating jobs. He highlighted the urgency of these reforms, pointing to Africa’s youthful population, with a median age of 19, and the need to expand economic opportunities for young people.
He reaffirmed Ghana’s support for the Bridgetown Initiative, championed by Barbados, and urged Commonwealth countries to prioritise its proposals for reforming the international financial system and improving access to development financing.
