President Uhuru Ask for Debt Forgiveness at World Leaders Meeting
President Uhuru Kenyatta hasย called for debt forgivenessย as a means to cushion countries that are severely affected financially during a meeting with member countries of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).
Kenyatta who is theย President-in-Office of the Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government on Thursday, April 9, argued thatย there was a need for aย multi-pronged approach to mobilise for resourcesย and welcomed the various debt relief mechanisms.
“We welcome debt relief measures, which have created the needed fiscal space to reduce the negative effects of the pandemic.
“However, we seek a continuation of the debt suspension initiative; and debt cancellation, for the most severely affected countries. The prolonged pandemic requires continuous mitigation measures,” he conveyed.
He further called for moreย trade and investment deals among member countries stating that theย over one billion people that make up the 79-member multilateral body providedย a huge potential for intra-OACPS trade and investments.
In his statement, Kenyatta alsoย outlined his vision for the multilateral institution saying he envisionedย a transitionary OACPS that wasย united and progressive.
“We should aim for a transition that supports structural transformation to foster industrialization, diversification of our economies, and an increase in value addition of our primary products,”ย he added.
The Kenyan President stated that in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, member states needed to use creativity and innovation to recover from the devastating economic effects of the pandemic.
“Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged our health and economic systems. Livelihoods have been destroyed rendering hundreds of millions of our people into unemployment and poverty.
“A key lesson is that we need to synergize our energies and use creativity and innovation to recover together and build back better,” the Kenyan head of state said.
Uhuru has in the past calledย for debt cancellation. In July 2020, he urged for theย cancellation of debtsย owed by African countries in the development of a joint European Union and Africa Covid-19 response strategy.
Speaking atย State House, Nairobi, during a virtual conference of European and African leaders on the proposed establishment of the Africa-Mediterranean-Europe (AME) Foundation, Uhuru stated that the cancellation of debts should be among the interventions taken inย cushioning African countries duringย the pandemic.
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Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
