HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Portal) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday it was time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to adapt them to the “realities of today’s world”.
At a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where the Group of Seven summit was held, Guterres said both institutions reflected the balance of power in 1945 and needed to be modernized.
“The global financial architecture has become outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” he said. “Given the economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion
Ukraine has failed to fulfill its core function as a global safety net.”
Guterres also said he believes the G7 summit has raised awareness among developing countries that not enough is being done to reform outdated institutions or to address “the frustrations” of the Global South.
India’s economy will grow by over 6% this year and next, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook in January this year.
China and India together will account for about 50% of world growth in 2023, said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist and director of the research department, at the time.
The economic clout of the wealthy G7 has also shrunk over the past 30 years, accounting for 29.9% of global GDP in 2023, according to the IMF, compared to 50.7% in 1980.
“We will now see the impact of the discussions that took place here in Hiroshima,” Guterres said. “G7 members were able to engage in discussions with some of the world’s most important emerging economies.”
G7 host Japan made it a point to invite personalities from the so-called Global South to Hiroshima for talks. Those invited included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Reporting by Sakura Murakami, edited by Chang-Ran Kim
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