Development
Island nations crushed by an unfair global financial system says Samoa’s PM
Staff Reporters
Apia, Samoa – 06 September 2023: Samoa’s Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa has criticized the current global financial system as “condemning the small island states to a vicious cycle of growing debt, crushed by an uncaring, unseeing, and unfair global financial system.”
She was giving a statement on video link as the Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States at the current UN meeting on International Financial Reform in Jakarta.
“We need change. We need the world to see beyond income as the only measure of inequality,” Fiame stated.
“I lead a small independent island nation in the Pacific Ocean with approximately 200,000 people. We are small, but we matter.
“Our island nations rank amongst the most vulnerable countries in the world today. On the frontlines of the climate crisis, we are the most vulnerable to powerful cyclones and unrelenting sea level rise. Geographically isolated, we are the most vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions.
“We are of the most vulnerable countries, but not the poorest. And this important distinction has condemned us to a vicious cycle of growing debt, crushed by an uncaring, unseeing, and unfair global financial system,” says Samoa’s Prime Minister.“We need change. We need the world to see beyond income as the only measure of inequality.
“We need the UN to adopt a multi-dimensional vulnerability index to give us the necessary breathing room for us to build a more resilient future for our peoples, including through debt relief and better access.”