Sitharaman To Push For Global South Reforms At UN, BRICS, NDB Meetings

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will advocate for greater financial support to developing countries, stronger development banks tailored to Global South priorities, and enhanced private sector participation in sustainable growth initiatives at three high-level international meetings in July.

Sitharaman is on an official visit from 30 June to 5 July to attend the UN's Financing for Development conference in Spain, the 10th annual meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB) in Rio de Janeiro, and the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors meeting, according to an official statement.

The meetings come at a time of mounting challenges for the Global South, including rising trade protectionism, unilateralism, and constrained access to affordable capital, issues that are expected to feature prominently in the discussions.

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At the UN summit in Seville, Sitharaman will deliver India's national statement and a keynote address at a summit focused on mobilizing private capital for sustainable development. The gathering will seek reforms to the international financial architecture and explore ways to unlock investments crucial for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the UN.

On the sidelines, the minister is scheduled to meet with senior leaders including Germany's and Peru's finance ministers, New Zealand's climate change minister, and European Investment Bank (EIB) president Nadia Calviño.

In Rio de Janeiro, Sitharaman will participate as India's governor at the NDB annual meeting and attend the BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors gathering. She will also speak at a governors' seminar on Building a Premier Multilateral Development Bank for the Global South.

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The NDB, in a note on the event, flagged the intensifying development pressures on the Global South amid shifting global dynamics.

“Most critically, the international order and governance founded on multilateralism, equality, and openness are now undermined by unilateralism, hegemonism, and protectionism,” it said. Geopolitical tensions, weaponization of trade and finance, barriers to tech cooperation, and climate setbacks in advanced economies are further complicating the development landscape, it added.

The NDB also highlighted chronic underfunding and limited access to affordable finance for developing nations, attributing it to risk aversion in the private sector, lagging reforms in existing multilateral institutions, and the shortfall in official development assistance from advanced economies-often tied to increasing political conditions.

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The bank is expected to propose a series of targeted measures, including reforms to the global financial system, mechanisms to crowd in private investment, and strategies to deepen development cooperation across the Global South.

On the sidelines of the NDB event, Sitharaman will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Russia. She will also meet her Portuguese counterpart in Lisbon and engage with prominent investors, the official statement said.

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