UN chief says it’s time to reform Security Council, Bretton Woods

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Sunday (21 May) that it was time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to align with the “realities of today’s world”.

Speaking at a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where the Group of Seven summit meeting had been held, Guterres said both institutions reflected the power relations of 1945 and needed to be updated.

“The global financial architecture became outdated, dysfunctional and unfair,” he said. “In the face of the economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of

Ukraine, it has failed to fulfil its core function as a global safety net.”

Guterres also spoke of how he felt that at the G7 summit there was a growing consciousness among developing countries that not enough was being done to reform outdated institutions or “remove the frustrations” of the Global South.

India’s economy will grow over 6% this year and next, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook this January.

China and India together will account for about 50% of world growth in 2023, IMF chief economist and director of the research department Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said at the time.

The wealthy G7’s economic clout has also shrunk in the past 30 years, accounting for 29.9% of global GDP in 2023 compared to 50.7% in 1980, according to the IMF.

“We will see now what is the impact of the discussions that were held here in Hiroshima,” Guterres said. “The G7 members were able to discuss with some of the most important emerging economies in the world.”

Global South in G7 focus

G7 host Japan made a point of inviting figures from the so-called Global South to Hiroshima for talks. Invitees included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The Hiroshima summit gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a chance to win over countries from the “Global South” such as  India in an attempt to broaden support for his country in its war against Russia.

However, a planned meeting between Zelenskyy and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the G7 summit didn’t materialise, reportedly because the Ukrainian president was late.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday said the G7 nations had agreed a united approach to China that called for diversifying supply chains to reduce dependence on one country, and hinted that he could speak with China’s president soon.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China represents the world’s greatest challenge to security and prosperity, but other leading economies should not seek to fully decouple from it.

G7 nations will ensure big investments in China continue even as they pare risky exposure to the world’s second-largest economy, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The G7 is looking to bridge a vast gap with emerging economies in the “Global South” by focusing on infrastructure and debt relief, officials say, part of a strategy to blunt China’s influence in lower-income countries.

China firmly opposes the G7 joint statement out of Hiroshima and has complained to summit organiser Japan, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)

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