MANILA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has called for urgent reform of the international financial system to better support middle-income countries (MICs) amid mounting global challenges, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Wednesday.
Speaking at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development held on July 2 in Seville, Spain, DOF Undersecretary Joven Balbosa urged enhanced representation of developing countries, a review of surcharge and special drawing rights policies, and increased quota shares within the global financial architecture.
The conference, which convened global leaders and development stakeholders, adopted the Sevilla Commitment, a renewed global financing framework emphasizing the role of multilateral development banks, expanded development cooperation, debt sustainability, and governance reform.
Representing the Group of 77 as well as the Like-Minded Group for MICs, the Philippines played a role in negotiations on the conference outcome document. Balbosa underscored the need to move "beyond GDP" in measuring development, advocating for indicators that better reflect MICs' specific challenges.
"To overcome the middle-income trap, tailored support is essential," Balbosa said, welcoming Spain's proposal to launch a Beyond GDP Global Alliance and expressing readiness to engage with the UN secretary-general's expert group on new development indicators.
He also backed the creation of a UN-led process for a more inclusive global debt architecture and emphasized the importance of concessional finance, climate funding, and technical assistance without compromising Official Development Assistance commitments.
Balbosa concluded by calling for increased capacity-building to ensure that financing for development leads to tangible progress. ■
