Pakistan becomes chair of G-24 bloc of developing nations, reaffirms pledge to a fairer global financial system

Pakistan assumed the chairmanship of the Group of 24 (G-24) on Sunday, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressing the country’s resolve to strengthen the collective voice of developing economies and “advancing a more responsive, fair and development-oriented international financial system”.

The intergovernmental group is a coalition of developing countries established in 1971 to coordinate their positions on international monetary and financial issues, according to its website.

Aurangzeb described the chairmanship as a “profound responsibility”, a handout issued by the Ministry of Finance stated, adding that he also called for “renewed international cooperation, stronger multilateral institutions and reinforced global commitments to address climate shocks, development financing gaps and global economic fragmentation”.

“The future of developing economies is not peripheral to the future of the global economy. It is central to it,” the statement quoted the finance minister as saying.

He further highlighted the “immense potential of emerging and developing nations as drivers of investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and global growth”.

Aurangzeb outlined three strategic priorities for Pakistan under the chairmanship: placing development at the centre of global economic policymaking, strengthening multilateral frameworks, and advancing a development-oriented international financial architecture.

For the first priority, the finance minister stressed the significance of macroeconomic stability, saying that it must be a foundation of investment, productivity, employment and shared prosperity.

He added that such an approach would enable “developing and low-income economies to move beyond crisis management towards sustainable growth”.

Secondly, he added that under its chairmanship, Pakistan will advocate for “more equitable and fair governance, meaningful participation in decision-making and greater responsiveness of the Bretton Woods institutions to the evolving needs and realities of their members”.

Thirdly, the finance minister said affordable and timely development financing, sustainable debt solutions, stronger global financial safety nets, climate resilience and greater mobilisation of public and private capital would be prioritised.

“Our task is to ensure that the immense potential of developing economies is not constrained by an international financial architecture that has yet to fully adapt to a changing world,” Aurangzeb was quoted as saying.

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