By Our Reporter
Malawi President, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says developing nations will only thrive economically within existing global systems if they collaborate on trade and economic strategies.
The President was speaking during the 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit which was hosted virtually by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Chakwera noted that the common dream of shared prosperity by this group of economies, also known as Global South, can only be realised when member nations come to terms with reality of existing obstacles.
“Chief among these obstacles are the historic attitudes of condescension towards the Global South and the existing global apparatus of systems and structures designed to perpetuate the domination of the Global South by the North,” he said.
The Malawi leader observed that the imbalances currently existing in the global trade an economic system are a major source of poverty in the smaller economies for they affect productivity and access to markets.
“It is simply not sufficient for us, as developing countries, to advocate for better terms for our participation in the global economy, which adversely affects international prices of food, fuel, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and other critical inputs for the productivity of economies in the Global South”
The President also noted that small economies feel the pinch of these imbalances especially during time of global disruptions as was the case with Covid19 travel restrictions, disrupted supply chains due to the war in Eastern Europe.
He, however, expressed hope that changes are slowly creeping into global policy frameworks to give some leverage to developing nations, case in point being the recent inclusion of the African Union to the consortium of 20 developed nations popularly known as G20.
The AU had its G20 membership accepted months ago to allow Africa speak authoritatively as a single bloc at global foras where key trade policies are drawn and crucial decisions made.