PARIS: The World Bank will ease financing for countries hit by natural disasters, it said on Thursday, as the International Monetary Fund announced it had hit its target of making $100 billion in special drawing rights available for vulnerable nations. “It is clear that the international financial architecture has failed in its mission to provide a global safety net for developing countries,” United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, calling the system outdated, dysfunctional and unjust. Leaders are set to back a push for multilateral development banks like the World Bank to put more capital at risk to boost lending, according to a draft summit statement seen by Reuters. “We need a robust and predictable financial safety net,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the conference, calling for a boost to below-market financing and more grants. “African countries are facing an unprecedented funding sque­eze which have aggravated the vulnerabilities,” he said.

Source: Ethiopian News June 23, 2023 14:07 UTC