World leaders have called for changes to the global financial system.

President Bola Tinubu said yesterday in Paris, France, that ongoing reforms, beginning with the elimination of fuel subsidies and the streamlining of the exchange rate, will be maintained in order to create a more competitive economy that attracts Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), urging investors to take advantage of opportunities in Nigeria.

“We are ready for business, ready to welcome investments,” he said during separate meetings on the sidelines of the New Global Financing Pact summit with President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), Prof. Benedict Oramah, and President of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso.

The President told the AfreximBank delegation that the Federal Government will continue to boost the economy through measures that encourage investment in sectors of Nigeria’s economic advantage, particularly agriculture.

“We need reforms for national survival,” he added, saying that repositioning the economy will require bravery and guts, and urging more collaboration to secure the economy.

“We must stimulate recovery in order to ensure our people’s growth and prosperity, which is not far away.” Nigeria is ready for global trade, and our reform is complete.”

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The President of AfreximBank praised President Tinubu for taking the daring move of eliminating the fuel subsidy and unifying the currency rate, assuring the Nigerian leader of the financial and development institution’s complete support for the continuing changes.

Oramah stated that the bank was already constructing the first African Specialist Hospital in Abuja, and that Energy Bank was promising to put additional money into the economy to boost investor confidence.

President Tinubu stated during the meeting with the EBRD, “We are challenged in terms of reforms, and we have taken the largest elephant out of the room with the removal of fuel subsidy, and multiple exchange rates are equally gone.” We are aiming to make the economy more open to business. Consider us a bank stakeholder.”

After analyzing six prospective investment markets, Renaud-Basso believes it would be a mistake for the development bank not to engage in Nigeria. She stated that the emphasis would be on the private sector, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

President Tinubu said Nigeria and other African countries are committed to addressing the intertwined issues of climate change, poverty, and fostering sustainable development as they gathered in the Palais Brongniart in Paris for a two-day summit aimed at finding better ways to combat poverty and climate change by reshaping the global financial system.

Panelists included David Craig, Co-Chair of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD); Mark Carney, Co-Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ); Mary Schapiro, Vice-Chair of Global Public Policy at Bloomberg; Sabine Mauderer, Vice-Chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System; and Catherine Mckenna, United Nations Special Envoy.

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“We believe we have more pressing social issues in Africa,” Tinubu stated. The idea has been made that international leaders should prioritize social issues alongside environmental concerns. I must thank President Emmanuel Macron for bringing poverty to the table. This summit is about the environment, people, and diversity.

“The severe financial and economic crisis that African countries faced following COVID-19 is over.” There are economic issues, and we’ve all realized that public resources will no longer fix the problem; we must track private money, and we must compete with other countries around the world.

“It is no longer business as usual for African countries; we must now participate in the dialogue.” We must compete against the rest of the globe. We applaud President Macron’s initiative to create the Net-Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU), which we believe will be a valuable resource for African countries.

In welcoming world leaders to Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said the summit would focus on building a new financial order that will scale up financing and support poor nations for energy transition and poverty reduction, while respecting each nation’s sovereignty.

Macron emphasized that African countries have been on the receiving end of enormous global issues, with debt hangovers impeding growth and development. He urged the leaders of 50 countries, multilateral institutions, and the business sector that justice and fairness must be prioritized in the creation of the new global financial architecture, with a greater emphasis on the most vulnerable.

“We must admit that no country can succeed alone in reducing poverty and protecting the planet,” he added.The French President stated that the private sector must be included in the new deal to harmonise growth because they hold the majority of the financial instruments that must be liquidated for more equitable development, particularly in health, education, and food security.

The President of Niger Republic, Mohammed Bazoum, spoke on behalf of African countries, saying the new accord must be “urgent” and “essential” to Africa, and the framework must be “just” and “robust” in representing the reality of developing countries as partners.

According to Bazoum, the issues of poverty and desertification have sparked instability in most countries, threatening peace and security in sub-regions and across the continent.

“In Africa, we need support for infrastructure, health, food security, and education,” he explained. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), warned the gathering that the summit will require more mobilization and political commitment for redesign and implementation.

According to the UN scribe, many nations are still suffering from the effects of COVID-19 and climate change, and the war in Ukraine has exacerbated the situation.

According to Guterres, some African governments have been unable to service their debts, potentially affecting future generations. He stated that the new global financial pact must address fragmentation and grievances, as well as permit the type of reform that supports debt relief, suspension of repayments, changes in business models, and increased investment from development banks, backed by guarantees.

President Tinubu will attend today’s summit, which will announce a New Global Financing Pact and implementation mechanism. The summit intends to build the framework for a new financial system that is better suited to the common concerns of the twenty-first century, such as tackling inequities, climate change, and biodiversity conservation.

The New Global Financial Pact would establish the principles and methods required to overhaul the financial system and address the high levels of debt that prohibit countries from taking bold action to address the climate, economic, and technological differences that threaten to fracture our planet.

It will also pave the path for new accords to address over-indebtedness and help more nations to access the money they require to engage in sustainable development, better preserve nature, decrease emissions, and safeguard communities most vulnerable to the ecological catastrophe.