INTERNATIONAL: G7 asks World Bank to support struggling African countries

By: Ryan Martins Obed

The world’s leading economies under the G7 banner have called on the World Bank to financially support African countries which are facing economic crisises due to the global pandemic and Russian-Ukraine war.

The G7 is part of the ongoing World Bank and International Monetary Fund -IMF- with African Finance Minsters in Washington D.C.

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union member countries of the G7.

Key representatives from Africa that are attending the ongoing meeting include officials from Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal and Zambia.

In a TV interview, the Ghanian Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said Thursday, Oct. 13 that the meeting is a historical since it is the first time the G7 has invited African Finance Ministers for such discussions.

He added that the meeting is meant to look at the operations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and how it can add to the capital needs to make sure that things do not deteriorate.

“The empathy is clear, the need to [introduce] something new and therefore, their interest in encouraging the world Bank to find more resource, tapping into the private sector so that they will stabilize where things are going.

“They have reduced growth rate to 2.7 per cent expecting a grim and difficult period, they don’t want to make sure that things deteriorate from liquidly to insolvency to chaos.”