President William Ruto on Tuesday secured the backing of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in his clarion call for the reform of the international financial architecture.
Following a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA in New York, on Tuesday, President Ruto said PM Meloni had “expressed her support for reforms in the International Financial System.
“Our strong and warm relations with Italy have allowed both nations to explore numerous opportunities across sectors,” the President said.
“We seek to expand our cooperation, especially in the areas of renewable energy, food security, infrastructure development and international peace,” he added.
While in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, President Ruto sustained his push for the reform of the international financial system, saying the change would empower developing nations to participate meaningfully in climate action.
This way, Ruto said, developing countries would also be in a position to pursue sustainable development, with a focus on debt restructuring and the elimination of discrimination.
“International Financial Institutions can foster a truly shared prosperity and pave the way for the achievement of the world’s climate action objectives and a sustainable future,” he said.
PM Meloni has also called for the reform of the international banks in the past.
In July following a meeting with US President Joe Biden, the two leaders committed to advance work to evolve the multilateral development banks to make them more responsive to shared global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and conflict and fragility, including through implementation of critical financial reforms begun under Italy’s leadership in the G20 and a review of the climate finance architecture to make it more effective and efficient.
