African Union Calls for Urgent Reforms to Global Financial System to Unlock the Continent’s Full Potential

Sevilla: At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf underscored the urgent need to reform the global financial architecture as a critical step toward unlocking Africa’s full potential.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) opened on Monday in Sevilla with the adoption of the Sevilla Commitment. This intergovernmentally negotiated outcome aims to establish a renewed global framework for financing development. The commitments include steps to close the $4 trillion financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), address debt crises, and reform the rules of the system to make the international financial system fairer and more transparent. The focus is on centering people’s needs and injecting new hope globally.

Delivering a keynote speech at the FFD4 event in Sevilla, Spain, on ‘Leveraging Private Business and Finance,’ the Chairperson of the African Union Commission called for urgent reforms to the global financial system to unlock Africa’s full potential. He emphasized that private business and finance are not merely complementary but catalytic for inclusive growth, job creation, and the green transition.

Youssouf also highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a transformative force for the continent and urged greater support for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), sustainable finance, and foreign direct investment. He pointed out that Africa is young, resource-rich, and ready to take advantage of these opportunities.

The chairperson further stated, “Let’s align capital with our development priorities and build a 21st-century financial architecture that works for all.”