IMF, World Bank call for suspending debt payments by poorest nations

Yahoo – AFP, March 25, 2020

The World Bank's International Development Association fights poverty in some
of the world's poorest countries, including Central African Republic (AFP Photo/
CAMILLE LAFFONT)

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday called for governments to put a hold on debt payments from the world's poorest nations so they can battle the coronavirus pandemic.

"The World Bank Group and the IMF believe it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries as well as a strong signal to financial markets," the Washington-based development lenders said in a joint statement.

The move aims to help countries that are home to two-thirds of the world's population living in extreme poverty -- largely in sub-Saharan Africa -- and qualify for the most generous, low-cost loans from the International Development Association (IDA) financed by wealthier nations.

"The coronavirus outbreak is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for IDA countries" which will face "immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak," the organization said.

The IMF and World Bank called on the Group of 20 nations to support the initiative for "all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from IDA countries that request forbearance."

In addition, the institutions called for an analysis of the financing needs these countries will face, and whether their total debt load is sustainable.

Part of the World Bank, the IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world's 76 poorest countries, providing zero or low interest loans spread over 30 years or more, and grants to some distressed nations.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, IDA commitments totaled $22 billion, of which 36 percent was provided on grant terms, according to the World Bank.

World Bank's Georgieva poised to become 2nd female IMF chief

France24 – AFP, 9 September 2019

Washington (AFP) - A top executive at the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, now faces no opposition in her candidacy to lead the International Monetary Fund, the fund announced Monday.

Georgieva, currently the bank's chief executive officer, is all but guaranteed to become the second woman ever to lead the fund.

Georgieva will replace former IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who has been named to lead the European Central Bank.

"The board's goal is to complete the selection process as soon as possible and at the latest by October 4, 2019," the IMF board said in a statement.

Under an unwritten rule, a European has always led the IMF since its creation in the aftermath of World War II while Washington has designated the leadership of the fund's sister organization, the World Bank.

The nominating period closed on Friday, a day after the fund formally lifted the age limit of 65 years for its leadership, clearing the way for the 66-year-old to take up the position.

No other candidates came forward.

The IMF executive board will now hold meetings with Georgieva, the statement said.

She said last month she was "honored" to be nominated to lead the IMF and was taking leave from her work at the World Bank.

The IMF, a global crisis lender, has been buffeted over the last year by the rise of populism in advanced economies and escalating trade conflicts running counter to the fund's mission of promoting international commerce.

Canada to apply to join China-backed infrastructure bank

Yahoo – AFP, Fran Wang, August 31, 2016

Canada's Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Ottawa's decision to join  the
China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) (AFP Photo/Chris Wattie)

Beijing (AFP) - Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Ottawa's finance department said Wednesday, in a coup for Beijing after Washington had tried to dissuade US allies from signing up.

"Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for our middle class as well as for people around the world," Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a statement issued in Beijing.

"Membership in the AIIB is an opportunity to do just that."

Jin Liqun, the first president of the 

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 

(AIIB) welcomed Canada's decision join

 the China-backed multilateral lender

(AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

The Beijing-headquartered multilateral lender, which began operations earlier this year, has been seen by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank, which was founded in 1966.

The $100 billion AIIB counts several major European countries among its shareholders after they joined up despite the objections of the United States, which remains by far the world's largest economy and hosts both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Critics feared the new bank would set much lower standards for projects and undermine principles of social, environmental and economic sustainability adhered to by the World Bank and other multilateral development finance institutions.

AIIB president Jin Liqun welcomed Canada's decision, which he called "a vote of confidence" in the institution that showed Ottawa's "confidence in the strong foundations the bank has built in our first few months".

The US and Japan -- the world's third-largest economy -- have notably declined to join the AIIB.

But Jin said that Washington now had a "very positive" opinion on the bank".

China "does not regard itself as the big boss" in the lender, he added, and its shareholding would "definitely be diluted" as more members joined, which could ultimately lead to Beijing losing the de facto veto power it holds over some of its decisions.

'Best interest'

In a speech Morneau suggested Canada was seeking to strike a balance between its close ally and neighbour the US, and the growing Asian giant.

China is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States, with exchanges topping Can$85 billion ($66.5 billion) last year.

"We have important relationships with the world's most powerful nations and have developed a capacity for mutual accommodation and governance," Morneau said.

"Should we become the first North American member of the AIIB, I have every confidence that we bring constructive and balanced views to the table."

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has been seen 

by some as a rival to the World Bank and the Philippines-based Asian Development 

Bank (AFP Photo/Fred Dufour)

Joining the China-backed lender would create jobs and business opportunities for Canadians, he said, adding: "Participation in the bank is clearly in Canada's best interest."

Canada's announcement came during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China, where he met Prime Minister Li Keqiang to try to strengthen ties before the G20 summit this weekend in Hangzhou.

The relationship has been strained recently by Chinese plans to impose new rules on canola imports, which could risk Can$2 billion a year of Canadian oilseed sales to the Asian giant.

They were due to come into force on Thursday, but Premier Li said Wednesday that the existing rules would continue to apply while the two countries negotiate a long-term agreement.

In June China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi berated a Canadian journalist while visiting Ottawa for questioning Beijing's human rights record, saying her question was "full of prejudice and arrogance" and that she had "no right to speak".

The incident provoked a public outcry and led Canada to lodge a formal complaint with Beijing.

The 2014 detention on espionage charges of Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt, who had run a Christian-themed coffee shop near the North Korean border, has also raised tensions.

At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, Trudeau said he had "highlighted" Garratt's case in meetings with Chinese leaders but stressed that the goal of the visit was to establish a "strong, stable relationship and ongoing dialogue" with China.

Premier Li said judicial authorities would handle Garratt's case "in strict accordance with the law" and that his right to consular visits would be upheld.

He added it was essential for the two countries to "remove disturbances" and focus on the "overall interest" of Sino-Canadian relations.

New $100 bn BRICS bank opens in China to challenge US-led lenders

Yahoo – AFP, 21 July 2015

The bank's opening comes two weeks after a BRICS summit hosted by

Russian President Vladimir Putin (AFP Photo/Alexander Nemenov)

A new $100 billion international bank dedicated to the emerging BRICS countries opened in China's commercial hub Shanghai on Tuesday, officials said, as an alternative to other multilateral lenders.

The "New Development Bank", backed by the so-called emerging BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has been viewed as a challenge to Washington-based institutions.

The NDB's website explicitly describes it as an "alternative to the existing US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund" which will address needs for infrastructure and sustainable development.

It comes as Beijing -- which is seeking a greater role on the global political stage to mirror its rise to become the world's second-largest economy -- is also setting up a separate Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei played down the competitive aspect.

"The NDB will supplement the existing international financial system in a healthy way and explore innovations in governance models," he told the NDB's opening ceremony in Shanghai, as quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.

The bank says on its website that it will have authorised capital of $100 billion, with $50 billion paid in initially.

From L: Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping and South Africa's

 President Jacob Zuma at the 7th BRICS summit in Ufa on July 9, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Alexander Nemenov)

Xinhua quoted bank president K. V. Kamath, formerly a private banker in India, as saying the institution's management was "working on initiation of operations", including "making business policy" and "developing project preparations".

Operations would begin late this year or early in 2016, he added.

The opening comes two weeks after a BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow -- which has suffered huge currency fluctuations and struggled to attract investors since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine -- sees the bank and a BRICS currency reserve pool as alternative global financial institutions.

At the time of the summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a statement that BRICS "illustrates a new polycentric system of international relations" demonstrating the increasing influence of "new centres of power".

'Financial order'

The BRICS nations, which represent 40 percent of the world's population, formally agreed to establish the bank at a meeting in Brazil in July last year.

The World Bank said it hopes to work with the newcomer.

"We are committed to working closely with the New Development Bank and other multilateral institutions, offering to share our knowledge and to co-finance infrastructure projects," World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is also leading the setting up of 

another new multilateral lender, the Asian Infrastructure Infrastructure Bank (AIIB)

(AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

The regionally-focused Asian Development Bank also said it would "look forward" to working with the NDB.

Chinese analysts denied the BRICS bank was aimed at challenging other multilateral agencies.

"It's a complement, instead of a challenge, to existing international institutions," Li Daxiao, chief economist of Yingda Securities, told AFP.

"It can help strengthen the currency markets and maintain a stable financial order through the internal stabilisation of the BRICS countries," he said.

The other new Chinese-based multilateral lender, the AIIB, will be headquartered in Beijing and China will be its biggest shareholder with about 30 percent, according to the legal framework signed late last month by 50 founding member countries.

Major European and Asian economies including Germany, Britain, France and Australia have joined the AIIB, but the United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- have declined to do so.

China emerges as potential savior for Greece

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-06

Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the 17th China-EU Summit in Brussels,
June 29, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

China has emerged as a possible savior for Greece after voters rejected an international bailout offer in Sunday's referendum, says the US-based Foreign Policy magazine.

Greece has become the first developed country in history to default on a loan from the International Monetary Fund after failing to make its US$1.73 billion repayment last week. The 61% "no" vote in the referendum has only added to the uncertainty over whether Greece will leave the eurozone.

Eyes have now turned to China, with its US$4 trillion in hard currency reserves and US$21 trillion in savings, to potentially pay off Greece's debt. Foreign Policy notes that China loaned some US$22 billion to Latin America last year, more than the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank combined.

There are many reasons why China might want to intervene to save Greece, the Foreign Policy piece said. Europe is China's largest trading partner, with overall economic interaction between the two sides reportedly totaling as much as €46 billion (US$51 billion). Coupled with a slowing Chinese economy and instability in stock markets, Beijing has plenty of incentives to bail out Athens.

Additionally, China is said to have expressed interest in having Greece serve as the Western terminus of its ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative to boost connectivity and cooperation among countries throughout Eurasia. Part of the initiative will likely be funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which Greece is not a member but a dozen or so other European nations are.

Another reason for Chinese intervention is the largest Greek port of Pireaus, for which the countries signed a US$5 billion cooperation deal last year. Athens has put the port up for sale and Chinese logistics company Cosco, which currently manages two container piers at Pireaus, is interested in acquiring a majority stake. The port was a key staging area for the Chinese evacuation of more than 30,000 of its citizens from Libya in 2011.

China has also exhibited a willingness to lend money to countries with poor ratings, the report said, noting that the country has loaned more than US$25 billion to economically or politically unstable nations like Venezuela, Argentina and Russia.

There remain substantial financial risks Beijing in underwriting a bailout for Greece, though the potential political gains could also be substantial, Foreign Policy said. If China manages to save Greece and maintain a stable eurozone, EU countries may be more willing to relax sanctions against China, especially export controls on technology or arms, or boost China's influence in Europe.

China's Laohucaijin.com suggests that Greece could conceivably receive a bailout from the AIIB, which is close to officially commencing operation, as opposed to the IMF. At the 17th China-EU Summit in Brussels last month, Premier Li Keqiang expressed a desire for Greece to remain in the eurozone, though it remains to be seen whether China would ultimately be willing to take the chance.

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Greek pensioner, Giorgos Chatzifotiadis, cries as he sits on the ground

outside a national bank branch in Thessaloniki on July 3, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Sakis Mitrolidis)

Framework for China-led international bank signed

Yahoo – AFP, Benjamin Haas, 29 June 2015

Supporters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank say fears over

 undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more 

than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Beijing (AFP) - Countries from five continents formally signed up Monday to the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank -- a potential rival to the Washington-based World Bank -- as Beijing steps up its global diplomatic and economic role.

Australia was the first country to sign the articles of association creating the AIIB's legal framework at a ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, an AFP journalist saw, followed by 49 other founding members.

Seven more are expected to do so by the end of the year.

The bank will have a share capital of $100 billion, with $20 billion paid in initially, the document showed.

The signing "is an embodiment of the concrete action and efforts made by all countries in the spirit of solidarity, openness, inclusion and cooperation", Chinese President Xi Jinping said after the ceremony.

Supporters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank say fears over

 undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more

than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Signalling China's central role at the bank, he added: "Now we are willing to listen to your views and proposals."

The AIIB has been viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and the United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- have notably declined to join.

Earlier this month, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rebuked US lawmakers for effectively encouraging the AIIB's formation by blocking reforms giving developing nations a greater say in the IMF.

Beijing will be by far the largest AIIB shareholder at about 30 percent, the articles of association posted on the website of China's finance ministry showed. India is the second biggest at 8.4 percent with Russia third on 6.5 percent.

The voting structure gives smaller members a slightly disproportionately larger voice, and a statement accompanying the articles said China will have 26 percent of the votes.

That is not enough to give Beijing a formal veto over all the bank's decision-making, but it will still have an outsized say and a block on some votes which require a 75 percent majority -- including the choice of the bank's president, suspensions of members, and changes to the rules.

"China's shareholding and its voting power at the establishment of the AIIB is a natural result led by the rules decided by all members," said Shi Yaobin, a vice finance minister, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

"China is not deliberately pursuing the veto power," he added, saying share percentages could be diluted by future new admissions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) speaks to Swiss Economy Minister Johann

 Schneider-Ammann (L) as he meets with the delegates attending the signing

 ceremony for the Articles of Agreement of the AIIB in Beijing on June 29, 2015

 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

Among non-Asian participants, Germany is the largest shareholder with 4.5 percent, followed by France with 3.4 percent and Brazil on 3.2 percent.

The AIIB is expected to go into operation later this year and its headquarters will be in Beijing, despite calls from Indonesia that it be based in Jakarta, further cementing China's prominence in the institution.

But all financial terms in the agreement are in US dollars, rather than China's currency, the renminbi, and the bank's working language will be English.

Transparency concerns

Only 50 of the 57 countries that have applied for founding membership signed up in Beijing on Monday, and the finance ministry said the remainder -- Denmark, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and Thailand -- have yet to ratify the necessary agreements.

Washington sought to dissuade its allies from taking part but European countries including Britain, France and Germany have rushed to sign up as they seek to bolster ties with the world's second-largest economy.

There are some concerns over transparency of the lender, which will fund infrastructure in Asia, as well as worries that a resurgent Beijing will use it to push its own geopolitical and economic interests.

The articles of association promise the bank will "be guided by sound banking principles in its operations" and ensure its operations comply with "policies addressing environmental and social impacts".

Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak leaves after signing an article

 of association to help set up the AIIB during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the

 People in Beijing on June 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao)

But equally vague statements in the past have done little to soothe critics.

Supporters say fears over undue Chinese influence are overblown, and that the participation by more than 50 countries will dilute Beijing's power.

The articles of association specify that the bank's president must come from the Asian region and will serve a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms.

Shi, a vice finance minister, said that China will "recommend a strong and powerful candidate" for the position, Xinhua reported.

In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We hope the AIIB will play a role as a financial institution that contributes to Asia's development while meeting standards of international institutions, including for its governance.

"We'd like to watch it closely, including its actual operations."

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Africa leaders sign 'Cape to Cairo' free trade bloc deal

Yahoo – AFP, Jay Deshmukh, 10 June 2015

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was one of the four signatories to the 

Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) during a summit in the Red Sea resort of 

Sharm el-Sheikh, on June 10, 2015 (AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)

Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) - African leaders signed Wednesday a 26-nation free trade pact to create a common market that would span half the continent from Cairo to Cape Town.

The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) deal, which must still be fine-tuned and ratified, caps five years of talks to set up a framework for preferential tariffs to ease the movement of goods in an area home to 625 million people.

The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA)

 is expected to boost economic growth 

across Africa (AFP Photo/Lucien Kahozi)

Analysts say it could have an enormous impact on African economies, which account for only about two percent of global trade despite strong growth.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan were among those who signed the pact at a summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

But hurdles remain, with the timeline for bringing down trade barriers yet to be worked out and the deal needing ratification in national parliaments within two years.

"What we are doing today represents a very important step in the history of the regional integration of Africa," Sisi said as he opened the summit.

"We have told the word today... of our desire to adopt practices that are necessary to increase trade among ourselves... We will do whatever is possible to activate this agreement," he later said, wrapping up the summit.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said that with the launch of the TFTA "Africa has made it clear that it is open for business."

Bolster intra-regional trade

The deal will integrate three existing trade blocs -- the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) -- whose countries have a combined gross domestic product of more than $1 trillion (885 billion euros).

"The geographical area covers the Cape (of Good Hope) to Cairo... The agreement paves the way for a continental free trade area that will combine the three biggest regional communities," Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said.

Egypt expects to export about $5 billion worth of goods over the next five

 years to fellow members of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) (AFP 

Photo/Khaled Desouki)

And Mugabe said the deal would create a "borderless economy" that would rank 13th in the world in terms of GDP.

Members of the three blocs range from relatively developed economies such as South Africa and Egypt to countries like Angola, Ethiopia and Mozambique, which are seen as having huge growth potential.

"The establishment of TFTA will bolster intra-regional trade by creating a wider market" that would "increase investment flow... and enhance regional infrastructure development," a final statement said.

Negotiators were optimistic the deal would be ratified by parliaments, and would help not just developed economies but also smaller ones.

"On the ground it means jobs being created... or else there could be an Africa spring far worse than the Arab Spring," COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya, who led the negotiations among the three blocs, told AFP.

Negotiators drafted the deal this week in Sharm el-Sheikh, and said it addresses such concerns as management of trade disputes and protection for small manufacturers once the TFTA comes into force.

The TFTA has been widely welcomed by world business leaders, with experts pointing out that only 12 percent of Africa's trade is between countries on the continent.

'One trade regime'

In 2013, the UN Conference on Trade and Development said Africa must focus on creating more space for the private sector to play an active role if it is to boost intra-continental trade.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab

(R) and President of the World Bank Jim 

Yong Kim attend a meeting to sign a 

trade agreement on June 10, 2015

(AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)

Analysts say although the continent's growth in the past 15 years outstripped global GDP expansion by nearly three percentage points, falling commodity prices, power shortages, political instability and corruption are still holding back its economies.

Egypt's Minister of Industry and Trade Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour said the TFTA would help Africa boost trade and investment, while also building infrastructure and production capacities.

Egypt itself expected to export about $5 billion worth of goods in the next five years to TFTA countries.

Officials said companies would benefit from an improved and harmonised trade regime, which would reduce costs by eliminating overlapping trade rules.

"What we have realised is that having one trade regime is better than the costly multiple trade regimes," said Ngwenya.

"The ultimate goal is to expeditiously establish a single free trade area... then establish a single customs union and then merge" the three blocs, he said.

Related Article:

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."

Jokowi Calls for Reform of UN at Asian-African Conference

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, Apr 22, 2015

President Joko Widodo, center, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, as
 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, looks on at the opening of the
60th Asian-African Conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. (AACC2015/Prasetyo Utomo)

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo has criticized the United Nations and the world’s financial institutions for leading an imbalance of economic and political power.

Joko’s speech in Jakarta opened a meeting of Asian and African nations to mark the 60th anniversary of a conference that was seen as a united stand by the developing world against colonialism and led to the Cold War era’s non-aligned movement.

The Indonesian president said that 60 years on, many countries in the two continents have gotten rid of their colonial masters and become independent nations.

“However our fight is far from over. A new world order based on justice, equality and prosperity is still out of reach,” the president said, referring to the aims of the inaugural 1955 Bali Conference.

 

Joko said 20 percent of countries lived in a world of abundance while the rest, especially countries in Asia and Africa, struggled to cross the poverty line.

“We, Asian and African countries, demand that the United Nations reform to function optimally as the world body that puts justice for all nations first,” Joko said. “For me, the global imbalance is getting more and more suffocating.”

Joko said the new global order should also be opened to emerging economic powers and leave the “obsolete ideas” of post-World War II Bretton Woods institutions in the past.

“There is a shifting world reality … Those who say the global economic problems shall only be solved through the World Bank, the IMF and the ADB, these are obsolete ideas,” Joko said. “There needs to be change. It’s imperative that we build a new international economic order that is open to new emerging economic powers.”

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are at the center of the Bretton Woods global financial order created by the United States and Europe.

Joko made no mention of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is seen as a threat to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, but Indonesia is one of nearly 60 countries that have offered to be founding members of the AIIB.

The United States and Japan have not thrown their support behind the bank, which is seen as a threat to US efforts to extend its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and balance China’s growing financial clout.

Indonesia invited heads of state and government from 109 Asian and African countries, but there have been dozens of no-shows and officials said only 34 leaders turned up.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, speaking at the conference, said countries in Asia and Africa “should no longer be consigned to the role of exporters of primary goods and importers of finished goods.”

The long-serving ruler called it a “role that has historically been assigned to us by the colonial powers and starting from the days of colonialism.”

The world order has changed dramatically since nearly 30 heads of state gathered in 1955 to discuss security and economic development away from global powers embroiled in the Cold War.

Many of those countries, such as China, India and Indonesia, are now themselves at top tables like the Group of 20 and wield significant economic power.

Joko said the group was meeting again in a changed world but still needed to stand together against the domination of an unspecified “certain group of countries” to avoid unfairness and global imbalances.

Abe & Xi

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday, a Japanese government official said, the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the Asian rivals.

However, speaking at the summit ahead of the expected meeting, Abe warned powerful nations against imposing on the weak, an implicit reference to China. He also made an allusion to Tokyo’s remorse in the past over World War II, but stopped short of issuing a fresh apology.

Abe’s comments made it an awkward diplomatic backdrop for the expected meeting with Xi. But a Japanese official said ahead of Abe’s address that the two leaders would meet later in the day. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies have flared in recent years due to feuds over wartime history as well as territorial rows and regional rivalry.

Memories of Japan’s past military aggression run deep in China, and Beijing has repeatedly urged Japan to face up to history. But the meeting on Wednesday between the two leaders was expected to promote a cautious rapprochement that began when Abe and Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last year.

“We should never allow to go unchecked the use of force by the mightier to twist the weaker around,” Abe said at the summit in Jakarta. “The wisdom of our forefathers in Bandung was that the rule of law should protect the dignity of sovereign nations, be they large or small,” Abe said, speaking after Xi had addressed the conference.

China is locked in territorial rows with several smaller countries in the South China Sea, while Japan has a separate feud over islets in the East China Sea.

Abe said in his Jakarta speech that Japan had, “with feelings of deep remorse over the past war,” pledged to adhere to principles affirmed at the first Bandung Conference, including refraining from the use of force and settling international disputes by peaceful means.

As the Jakarta conference got underway, President Joko was flanked by Xi and Abe for a group leaders’ photo. The two remained on either side of Joko when they sat and watched an Indonesian traditional dance troupe perform.

JG & Reuters

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi 

Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asian-African 

Conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. (Reuters Photo/Kyodo)

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Emerging Countries Blast US for Not Backing IMF Reform

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Apr 17, 2015

A delegate walks past a sign for the IMF/WB Spring Meetings in Washington
 DC on April 16, 2015. (AFP Photo/ Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)

Washington. The emerging economies of the Group of 24 sharply criticized the United States on Thursday for holding up what they see as critical reforms of the International Monetary Fund.

Speaking at the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the group said the failure after five years of the US Congress to ratify the reforms was undermining the effectiveness and legitimacy of the global crisis lender.

“We reiterate our deep disappointment with the lack of progress in implementing the IMF quota and governance reforms agreed to in 2010 and strongly urge the US to complete ratification,” they said.

“This remains an impediment to IMF credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness and has considerably delayed forward-looking commitments,” they added, pointing to a second set of reforms that had been expected this year.

The 2010 reforms, a doubling of IMF funding and a reallocation of voting power to boost China and other up-and-coming economic powers, were originally propelled by Washington, and President Barack Obama’s White House has repeatedly endorsed them.

But US Congress has refused to sign off on the deal, with some legislators not wanting to contribute more money to the IMF and others concerned about any erosion to the dominant US role at the fund.

Criticisms of Washington have steadily grown, and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that she understood why other IMF members “are frustrated and impatient to see that reform actually implemented.”

“I am also calling on the United States to actually obtain ratification of that reform so that the institution can continue to be representative of the entire community as it evolves.”

The G-24 endorsed the “Plan B” put forward in recent weeks to split the the two facets of the 2010 reforms and put through the quota revision without the need for ratification by the US Congress.

The net effect of that reform would be to reduce the voting power of European countries while increasing that of China, India and others.

Agence France-Presse

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