G20 think tanks call for an overhaul of IMF and World Bank financing model
The G20
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'This includes support for the development of multi-currency cross-border payment systems, swap lines between diverse countries, loans from multilateral development banks in local currencies and regional arrangements for payments in local currencies,' it said.
It called for a revised IMF debt sustainability framework — jointly with the World Bank in the case of low income countries — that incorporates assets created by debt; the costs of climate change and biodiversity collapse, and accounts for policy actions and investments to mitigate those vulnerabilities.
'The G20 should encourage credit rating agencies to enhance the transparency of their rating methodologies and models and give due consideration to local economic conditions in the countries that they are rating,' the communique added.
It wants the G20 to facilitate overhauling the IMF's governance model by promoting efforts to find a global agreement on quotas and ensuring that 'no individual country should have veto power'.
The communique summarises priorities collected from local and international think tanks led and coordinated by the Institute for Global Dialogue, the South African Institute of International Affairs and Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation.
As part of the G20's multiple groups, such as Business20, Civil20, Urban20, Women20, Startup 20, the T20 communique will inform the declaration of heads of state at November's summit.
The communique also recommends that the G20 empower the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to preserve multilateralism while reforming the global trade system.
While not addressing
It points the G20's attention to digital inequality and the limited statistics required to create universal evidence-based policies on AI systems, and recommends setting up a digital public infrastructure fund and for the group to 'play a leading role in advocating for global forums on digital technology for sustainable development'.
'The G20 should support the development of enabling national and regional integrated data governance frameworks that are holistic, rights-promoting, equitable and just. Data governance is a cross-cutting issue that will require the review of existing institutional arrangements that are not fit-for-purpose for this dynamic and complex environment,' it says.
The G20 should also coordinate action to curb income and wealth concentration — particularly through the implementation of a global wealth tax and its inclusion in the United Nations Tax Convention — and champion reform of multilateral development banks and financial institutions reform to improve the access of vulnerable countries, the communique says.
It calls for the promotion of value-addition and fair benefit-sharing in the critical minerals value chains, for equitable green industrialisation.
Founded in 1999,
Initially spearheaded by finance ministers and central bank governors during the 1999 Asian financial crisis, the platform was elevated to the level of heads of states during the 2009 global financial crisis.
From its inception the G20 members have grappled with challenges to the international finance system and ways to achieve global financial stability.
In a 2023 UN sustainable development goals report, secretary general Antonio Guterres called for 'a paradigm shift' to move G20 discussions towards 'practical solutions', noting that only 12% of the targets were on track, with 50% operating at optimal performance level.
For the past four years, G20 presidencies have been held by Global South countries — Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023, Brazil in 2024 and South Africa in 2025, with a collective aim to reform global financial institutions and trade agreements for more inclusion and balanced trade.
During South Africa's presidency,
The theme has
Rubio equated South Africa's 'solidarity, equality & sustainability'' 2025 theme to the diversity, equity and inclusion policies vehemently opposed by the Trump administration.
South Africa's G20 sherpa, Zane Dangor, has downplayed any
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