HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) – It is time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to keep up with “the realities of today’s world,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference in Hiroshima, Japan, Guterres said the group’s seven summits, the two institutions reflected the power relations of 1945 and needed to be renewed.
“The global financial framework is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” he said. “In the face of the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion
Ukraine has failed to fulfill its essential function as a global safety net.”
Guterres also spoke of how he felt there was a growing sense among developing countries that not enough had been done at the G7 summit to reform outdated institutions or “relieve the frustrations” of the Global South.
India’s economy will grow by 6% this year and next, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook this January.
IMF Chief Economist and Director of Research Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said then that China and India will contribute 50% of global growth by 2023.
The economic influence of the wealthy G7 has shrunk over the past 30 years, from 50.7% in 1980 to 29.9% of global GDP in 2023, according to the IMF.
“Now we will see what the impact of the discussions in Hiroshima will be,” Guterres said. “G7 members were able to discuss with the world’s most important emerging economies.”
G7 host Japan has indicated that it will invite members of the so-called Global South to Hiroshima for talks. Invitees include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Reporting by Sakura Murakami Editing by Chang-Ron Kim
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