President Bola Tinubu, addressing the 19th Kampala Non-Aligned Summit chaired by Ugandan President Museveni, emphasized the imperative of equitable capital access for development.
Tinubu underscored that the 130 member countries, representing over 55% of the global population, have a combined budgetary resource of less than $3.5 trillion – a figure dwarfed by the United States’ budget alone.
This is according to the press release issued by Mrs Folasade Boriowo, Director of Information, Ministry of Budget & Economic Planning, on Sunday.
Tinubu noted that their aggregate public debt, totalling less than $6.6 trillion, is approximately one-sixth of that of a few developed countries. These figures highlight the glaring challenge of insufficient capital hindering the development of Non-Aligned countries, urging for equal opportunities.
These startling statistics, according to President Tinubu, are clear evidence that the Non-Aligned countries suffer from a lack of access to capital and resources for development.
- “More often than not, public debt available to developing countries is far more expensive and not substantial enough to make an impact. Therefore, we wish to advocate a financing mechanism and equitable capital market access that can provide adequate financial resources to the Global South,” President Tinubu stated.
Present at the extensively attended summit through the representation of the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, President Tinubu enumerated the prevailing global challenges, encompassing climate change, conflicts, wars, terrorism, and the widening gap of inequality.
- “All these are happening as we are battling to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not possible for any one nation to tackle these multidimensional challenges,” he said.
The President emphasized the need for enhanced collaboration among member states in their efforts to attain sustainable development goals.
More Insights
- President Tinubu emphasized the summit’s theme, “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence,” highlighting its relevance amidst contemporary challenges such as wars, the proliferation of small arms, nuclear threats, and polarization between developed countries, reminiscent of the Cold War era.
- He underscored the need to recommit to Non-Aligned Movement principles for global peace and security. On climate change, Tinubu commended developing countries’ efforts and stressed the importance of affordable climate finance and technologies.
- The President urged collaboration with the United Nations to ensure developed countries fulfil their commitment of $1 trillion in climate finance.
- Addressing the crisis between Israel and Palestine, President Tinubu condemned the destruction in Palestine, calling for a humanitarian truce, upholding human rights, and advocating for a ceasefire.
- Tinubu urged NAM to take practical actions, emphasizing shared prosperity as the key to peace and justice, adding that the pursuit of shared prosperity must be central to multilateralism.
