25 July, Addis FSD Conference Plenary on Debt
Matthew Martin spoke in the plenary session on debt at the FFD Preparatory Conference for the FFD Summit to be held in 2025, held in Addis Ababa. His speech highlighted the depth and breadth of the worst ever debt crisis for countries of the global South, and made 5 practical recommendations from the July 2024 Norwegian Church Aid report to help countries hit by natural disasters, lower-income and market-accessing countries to reduce their debt service burdens sharply during 2025-30; and to reform the Common Framework so that it targets a level of 10% external debt service/revenue from year 1 of a debt relief agreement. These practical steps could save US$847 billion a year for spending on the SDGs, 60% more than the amount the UN Secretary General requested to fund the SDG Stimulus. In addition, to slow the next debt crisis, he proposed the adoption of a protocol to the UN Convention Against Corruption, preventing enforcement of predatory debt.
