Nigeria’s finance minister urges more support amidst global shocks

Nigeria’s finance minister, Wale Edun, has called on multilateral institutions to increase support for developing economies facing rising financial pressure linked to the Middle East conflict.

Speaking at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Edun said that vulnerable countries require additional liquidity and risk-management tools to reduce borrowing costs.

“We would like them to do more… particularly at this time, additional liquidity risk management tools that bring down the cost of financing,” he said.

Edun, who also chairs the G-24, noted that declining development aid and rising debt repayments have resulted in negative net financial flows to many developing economies.

He warned that tighter global financial conditions and increased risk aversion could further limit private capital flows into emerging markets, increasing reliance on multilateral support.

The minister said Nigeria would seek stronger international financial backing this week as higher fuel costs linked to the Middle East crisis continue to weigh on the economy.

At the same time, he cautioned against a return to broad fuel subsidies, stating that any government support should be targeted and temporary.

“It is important that we don’t have a return to generalised subsidies… into policies that have not proven successful,” Edun said.

He also called for greater domestic revenue mobilisation and increased intra-African trade to cushion the effects of shifting global economic conditions.

SOURCE: Reuters