Ministers and Governors, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and distinguished colleagues: Good morning.

It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to the Spring Ministers and Governors Meeting of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) on International Monetary Affairs and Development.

I would like to request the press to leave the room at this time so we can move forward with the meeting.

Before we begin, I would like to make a few introductions. I am Ralph G. Recto, Secretary of Finance of the Philippines and Chair of the Board of Governors of the G-24. It is an honor to chair today’s meeting.
Joining me at the table are:

First Vice-Chair, Ms. Candelaria Alvarez Moroni, Undersecretary for International Coordination and Management of the Secretariat of International Economic and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Argentina;

Second Vice-Chair, Mr. Olawale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy of Nigeria;
Dr. Iyabo Masha, Director of the G-24; and

Mr. Julius Duran, Advisor.

In the folder in front of you, you will find the documents relevant to today’s meeting, including the Agenda for this meeting. Other documents have been circulated electronically. Unless there are any objections, let me suggest that we adopt the Agenda so we can begin our meeting.

Our time is limited today, and we will conclude promptly at 12:30 p.m. I hope we can all manage our time well. Due to pressing schedules, Ms. Georgieva and Mr. Banga will leave the meeting around 11:25 am, at which time, we will continue with further discussions among Ministers and Governors.

Distinguished guests and colleagues: Now is a crucial moment in history where increased global cooperation and greater support from international financial institutions are more urgent than ever before.

As nations strive to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, we find ourselves in the center of another struggle—with not just one, but two ongoing hot wars and a trade war.

These escalating geopolitical tensions intensify the strain on an already battered global economy grappling with high inflation and interest rates, widening fiscal gaps, ballooning debts, and imbalanced trade deficits.

And then, climate change is also lurking in the shadows, wreaking havoc on vulnerable countries.

According to the World Bank, this series of compounding challenges will cause global growth to decline for the third year in a row, marking the weakest expansion of the world’s economy in any half-decade since the 1990s.

Alarmingly, one in every four developing countries is now poorer than before the pandemic.

Any slowdown in global economic performance will surely hit the developing economies the hardest. This poses a grave threat to the peace, economic security, and prosperity of all our people.

We have now reached a critical point. Without decisive and concerted action to safeguard our hard-won gains, developing nations are at the risk of falling even further behind.

This moment necessitates more agile and resolute international financial institutions.

I urge the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other partners to intensify their efforts in assisting developing countries to mitigate and reverse the factors threatening our growth prospects.

The primary concern for emerging markets and developing economies is securing immediate access to short-term liquidity and affordable long-term financing to navigate the turbulent waters ahead.

As the lender of last resort to most vulnerable countries, we call on the international financial institutions to develop more innovative and responsive financing solutions that will help us sustain productivity, enhance long-term growth prospects, and increase resilience to economic shocks.

They must set more ambitious goals for their concessional and non-concessional windows, commensurate with the challenges of achieving inclusive and sustainable development by 2030.

The ambitious replenishment, expedited disbursement, and efficient delivery of the International Development Association, or IDA21, is an urgent matter as it serves as a critical lifeline for developing nations.

Without improvements to financing conditions in the short term, decades of individual and global efforts to eradicate poverty and inequality, combat climate change, and invest in growth-enhancing infrastructure projects will be put to a halt, if not reversed.

We are counting on this meeting to set unprecedented multilateral cooperation. Together, let us find transformative solutions that will reclaim our gains and steer the global economy faster and further on the road to inclusive and irreversible growth.

The peace and prosperity of future generations rest in our hands. This is a defining moment that will shape the fate of the developing nations. We cannot afford any delay or inaction.

With this brief context, let me turn to Managing Director Georgieva to address the Group. She will be followed by President Banga.