PRIVATE SECTOR PANEL
- Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, Republic of Ghana
- Chiedza Madzima, Head of South Africa Research & Global Operational Risk, Fitch Solutions
- Charles Robertson, Global Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital
- Tidjane Thiam, former Group Chief Executive Officer, Credit Suisse
HOSTS / MODERATORS
- Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development (CGD)
- Vera Songwe, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The session with Ministers of Finances has been canceled due to a conflict with a UN meeting of ministers
ABOUT THE EVENT
The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating debt vulnerabilities across Sub-Saharan Africa at a time when the continent needs a massive surge in financing to fight the pandemic and its economic effects. In response, the G20 announced the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in April to grant bilateral debt service suspension to the poorest countries and called on the private sector to participate in the initiative on comparable terms. So far, 41 of the 73 eligible DSSI countries have applied for debt suspension but some countries are concerned it could harm their credit ratings and access to global capital markets. The private sector has also found it difficult to participate in the initiative.
Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings, we want to get the viewpoint of financial market experts on the headwinds confronting African economies, private financing access across the continent, and options for private sector participation in the DSSI. We would like to take a hard look at what the G20 has and has not accomplished in the last few months and what the UN and other institutional institutions should prioritize. Immediately following the panel, we will host African Finance Ministers to discuss their evaluation of the G20 initiatives, their expectations for UNGA, especially regarding financing and debt initiatives.
If you have questions for our panelists, please submit them to events@cgdev.org, tweet @CGDev #CGDTalks, or submit your comments via YouTube.
