STATEMENT
Multi-Stakeholder Round Table 6: Reforming the international financial architecture and addressing systemic issues
July 07, 2025 Download PDFTopic: Sustainable Development
INTERVENTION ON BEHALF OF THE ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES (AOSIS) Multi-Stakeholder Round Table 6: Reforming the international financial architecture and addressing systemic issues 3 July 2025 Thank you Co-Chairs, I have the honor to deliver these remarks on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Small Island Developing States remain on the frontline of overlapping global crises, climate change, economic shocks, and geopolitical disruptions. Yet, the international financial system continues to operate on assumptions that do not reflect our lived realities. To put it simply, the current system was not built for us. The Compromiso de Sevilla rightly calls for urgent reform. However, its commitments is a floor, not the ceiling. In this regard, we reiterate our long-standing call to move beyond income-based eligibility criteria. Income per capita tells you nothing about a country’s exposure to climate disasters, narrow economic base, or capacity to absorb external shocks. This is why AOSIS supports the use of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to guide access to finance and development support more fairly. Second, finance must also be sufficient, predictable and accessible. Our countries require scaled-up, grant-based support. Financing windows across the international system must be tailored to the scale and urgency of SIDS, with simplified procedures for SIDS. Third, we need a real seat at the table. Voting shares matter, but so does meaningful participation in decision-making, governance, and crisis response. Our voices have to shape the system in a meaningful way, through enhanced representation at all levels of the system, including management positions. Lastly, we require a more nuanced approach to sovereign credit ratings. The current regime is expensive, biased towards wealthier countries, and does not consider our unique vulnerabilities. Without ratings, borrowing costs for SIDS are high, making it harder to invest in resilience. And when crises hit, those with ratings hesitate to seek debt relief for fear of being downgraded. Indeed, the current international financial architecture was not built for us; but we are ready to help build one that serves all. Thank you.
Sub Topic: Finance
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