Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

Debt Relief for World’s Poorest Countries Barely Mentioned at G20 Summit in Rome

by Eric Olander
Working session during the G20 leaders summit in Rome. Image via the G20.

Leaders from the world’s wealthiest countries meeting in Rome over the weekend covered a lot of ground on everything from finalizing an agreement on a global minimum corporate tax to new climate-related commitments.

But for a conference purportedly focused on “addressing today’s most pressing global challenges,” the burgeoning debt crisis throughout much of the Global South was not on the agenda in any meaningful way and received only a passing mention as point #11 in the final communiqué. 

Lead the Conversation on China

Subscribe Today to Get Full Access to The China-Global South Project

Check Out Everything You'll Get With Your Subscription

The China-Global South Daily Brief delivered to your inbox at 6AM Washington time

Full access to exclusive news and analysis from editors based in the Global South

Transcripts of CGSP’s twice-weekly podcasts

Students and teachers with a valid .edu email address are eligible for a 50% discount off monthly or yearly subscriptions. Email us to receive a discount code.

You Might Like

As the World Forgets About the Debt Crisis, More African Countries Struggle to Stay Afloat Amid Rising Servicing Costs

Last year at this time, expectations ran high that Africa’s largest creditors in Beijing, and among the Paris Club members were all motivated to restructure their outstanding loans to reduce the burden on ...

Meaningful Debt Relief Probably Isn’t Going to Happen. We Should All be Worried.

The Financial Times newspaper deserves a lot of credit for calling out the world’s wealthiest governments for their glaring hypocrisy on the issue of African debt relief. While treasuries in the ...

When It Comes to the G20’s DSSI, China’s Playing by a Different Set of Rules

There’s an enormous disconnect between how the Chinese are approaching the debt crisis in poor countries and the expectations of the world’s legacy donors. People like World Bank President David Malpass seem befuddled ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.