NEWS & MEDIA

ACET joins renewed call for immediate relief to COVID-19 affected countries

June 29, 2020
The African Center for Economic Transformation has joined a group of former world leaders and institutions to reiterate the urgency of delivering immediate relief to countries facing the effects of “an unprecedented global crisis” – failure of which, they warn, will bring consequences that will be felt for rest of the decade.

A joint letter from 225 past and present world leaders, economists and health experts including ex-prime ministers Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Sir John Major, is calling for an urgent G20 summit on coronavirus to be convened and a £2 trillion plan to support the fight against Covid-19 and stimulate the global economy. ACET President K.Y. Amoako signed the letter on ACET’s behalf.

“[W]e cannot bring the health emergency to an end in any of our countries until we end it in all countries,” the letter states.

The G20, a forum for nations and the EU to discuss economic matters, is not currently due to meet until November. However, the signatories urge quicker action by the G20 to prevent an even deeper worldwide recession and health crisis, including:

  • The immediate payment, and full monitoring and reporting, of the $8 billion pledged on May 4 for vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutic development;
  • Global coordination of the development, mass manufacturing and distribution of vaccines to ensure they are universally and freely available; and
  • G20 support, in full,
  • Closer cross-border collaboration to increase global supply of vital medical equipment and support for developing countries to build up health systems and capacities.

The letter also urges G20 nations to support the UN’s appeal for support for refugees, and displaced persons.

To address the economic challenges, the signatories call on the G20 to provide the $2.5 trillion level of support that the IMF has projected is needed by emerging markets and developing countries to overcome the crisis. This, they note, will require the IMF, World Bank and regional development banks to raise their lending and grant ceilings and multilateral development banks increasing their outstanding loan portfolios from the current $500 billion to between $650 and $700 billion over the next 18 months.

“Representing, as it does, 85 per cent of the world’s nominal GDP, the G20 has the capacity to lead the mobilisation of resources on the scale required. We urge leaders to do so immediately,” the letter states.

The signatories also call for a new binding approach for private creditors to demonstrate that they are providing net new lending in response to the COVID-19 crisis, and for debt relief for the 76 International Development Association countries to be “radically” scaled up to include relief by bilateral, multilateral and private creditors until the end of 2021 and urgently operationalized.

The letter was written by Erik Berglöf, Director of LSE’s Institute of Global Affairs, Gordon Brown; United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former British Prime Minister;  Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and UNDP Administrator; and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Several former and sitting African leaders signed, including Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister of Ghana and Chair of the World Bank Development Committee; HE Benjamin Mkapa, President of Tanzania (1995-2005);  Graça Machel, Education & Culture Minister of Mozambique (1975-1986); Deputy Chair of The Elders, HE John Kufuor, President of Ghana (2001-2009); HE Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania (2005-2015); HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia (2006-2018); and member of the global organization The Elders, among others.

Read the full letter below

The time is right for G20 leaders to hold a second meeting to discuss measures to advance the implementation of the G20 Action Plan, and agree to a more strongly coordinated global response to the health, economic and social emergencies we face.

May 30th saw the highest daily figure recorded worldwide for new cases of COVID-19. On every continent, countries are attempting to stop the transmission of the virus.

The G20 has demonstrated that it can bring people together around a common set of actions. What it decides next on the COVID-19 response will have a direct bearing on the future of the world economy.

Our world is at a critical moment. Therefore we write again to underline the urgency of delivering immediate relief to countries facing the effects of an unprecedented, global crisis. For the first time this century, global poverty is on the rise. The problems faced by the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America demand immediate action, as do those confronting diverse middle-income economies. Taken together, these countries represent nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population and approximately one-third of global GDP. The United Nations (UN) predicts that a world-wide recession would reverse three decades of improving living standards and plunge upwards of 420 million more people into extreme poverty.

The World Food Programme has estimated that 265 million of our fellow citizens are likely to suffer from crisis levels of hunger – an increase of 130 million over pre-pandemic levels. We are also hearing reports of the devastating impact of poverty, and the pressure on all health and other social services on which girls and women depend.

COVID-19 is a public health crisis that has brought in its wake the greatest education emergency of our lifetime: 1.5 billion – 80 per cent of all children – have been out of school. The majority are denied distance learning. Many may never return – many, we fear, may enter child labour. Millions who no longer receive school meals are going hungry, while at the same time education aid is being reduced.

Compared to pre-crisis levels the International Labour Organisation estimates a 10.5 per cent decline in the number of hours worked, equivalent to the loss of more than 300 million full-time jobs.

Health

The global economic and social emergency cannot end until we can bring the global health emergency to an end. And we cannot bring the health emergency to an end in any of our countries until we end it in all countries.

We welcome the $8 billion pledged on May 4th for vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutic development as recommended by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, and urge that these contributions be paid immediately and be fully monitored and reported. But much more needs to be done:

  • We need global coordination of the development, mass manufacturing and equitable distribution of a vaccine or vaccines to ensure that they are universally and freely available as quickly as possible.
  • We urge every G20 member to support in full the June 4th $7.4 billion replenishment of Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance – which between 2021-2025 will immunise 300 million children, saving up to 8 million lives. While we fight COVID-19 we must not allow the resurgence of other infectious diseases.
  • Closer cross-border collaboration is essential to increase now and for the future the limited global supply of vital medical equipment, including to extend the capacity for making testing accessible in every country.
  • Developing countries need immediate support from the World Health Organisation and others to build up their health systems and capacities, as well as to improve their social safety nets.
  • G20 countries should support the UN’s appeal for support for refugees, displaced persons and others who rely on humanitarian aid.

The economy

We note not only the multiple obstacles faced by developed countries in returning to growth, but also the deteriorating economic and fiscal conditions faced by many emerging, middle income, and developing economies. More than 100 countries have now approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help, and more are expected to do so.

The IMF has said emerging markets and developing countries need $2.5 trillion to overcome the crisis, but only a fraction of that $2.5 trillion has so far been allocated.

While we welcome the good intentions at the heart of the G20 Action Plan, concrete measures must urgently be agreed and be implemented in full:

  • Debt relief for the 76 International Development Association countries needs to be scaled up radically to include relief by bilateral, multilateral and private creditors until the end of 2021, and operationalised with urgency. Multilateral creditors must demonstrate that they are providing net new lending in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Time is running out for the voluntary process for private creditors coordinated by the Institute of International Finance, and a new binding approach now needs to be considered.
  • A dozen or more emerging markets may well run into debt servicing problems in the coming year. The IMF should be mandated to convene relevant players and through its debt sustainability and policy analysis to set broad parameters for resolution.
  • The G20 should agree that the $2.5 trillion level of support will now be provided. This requires the IMF, the World Bank and regional development banks to raise their lending and grant ceilings. The multilateral development banks (MDBs) will likely increase their outstanding loan portfolio from the current $500 billion to between $650-700 billion over the next 18 months. Without further increasing the resources available to the international financial institutions and allowing them to be more ambitious in deploying their capital, their ability to respond to the crisis will be severely constrained.

The consequences of not acting now would be felt for the rest of the decade. This is a time when nations should be willing to go beyond their normal fiscal deficit ceilings. The poorest nations, whose fiscal capacity is limited, need additional fiscal support from rich countries and multilateral organisations.

Support for social safety nets, regular health services, education, and climate change initiatives – and for the 2030 timetable for the Sustainable Development Goals – must not suffer because of the fight to mitigate COVID-19 transmission. Thus:

  • We need to ensure that the MDBs have sufficient resources for at least the next five years, which will require an additional $1 trillion in their combined portfolios. The individual institutions should be asked to provide plans for how they are to achieve these objectives, including new sources of finance from borrowing, by better employing their existing capital, further capital increases and the creation of new guarantee-based facilities like the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd).
  •  We reassert our commitment to the issuing of special drawing rights (SDRs), and to the transfer of existing, unused allocations and new ones to countries most in need of support. Without requiring a reference to national parliaments, a decision on SDRs would release nearly $600 billion immediately, and more than $1 trillion by 2022. We ask the G20 to build political support for an SDR allocation while engaging simultaneously in the necessary technical work, so that the measure can be implemented as soon as agreement is achieved.

A coordinated response

In the first stage of the crisis, the emphasis was on the provision of liquidity, employment protection and emergency investments in health. Now, as we seek to return the world economy to pre-crisis levels of growth, enhanced fiscal, monetary and central bank coordination is vital.

‘Green’ investment must be at the heart of the stimulus with spending prioritised around infrastructure and other projects beneficial to sustainable development and employment. This will make recovery from this crisis truly transformative, accelerating progress in delivering on climate change agreements.

Consideration should be given to a global growth target, which can sit side by side with national inflation targets, and to rebuilding global trade.

To raise vitally needed revenues for national governments, a coordinated strategy to recover money lost to tax havens should be agreed. Countries should automatically exchange tax information and remove secrecy surrounding beneficial owners and trusts, as well as agreeing to sanction non-compliant countries which refuse to implement the agreed rules.

Without action from the G20, the recession caused by the pandemic will only deepen, hurting all economies and the world’s most marginalised and poorest peoples and nations the most. Representing, as it does, 85 per cent of the world’s nominal GDP, the G20 has the capacity to lead the mobilisation of resources on the scale required. We urge leaders to do so immediately.

COVID-19 is a wake-up call to the global community. The global health and financial architecture must be further strengthened, and in parts redesigned, to enhance our preparedness and capacity to act with speed and at scale to fight future crises. We should send out a message of hope for the future: that the UN, the governments of the G20 nations and all interested partners can turn this crisis into an opportunity to build a new and more effective multilateralism, which more appropriately reflects current economic and political realities and is better equipped to address the challenges of the 21st century.

Signed,

Karen Koning Abuzayd
UN Under-Secretary-General and Commissioner-General for UNRWA (2005-2010)¹
Philippe Aghion
Professor of Economics, Collège de France & London School of Economics (LSE)
María Elena Agüero
Secretary General of the WLA-Club de Madrid

Masood Ahmed
President of the Center for Global Development; Director of the IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department (2008-2016)
Esko Aho
Prime Minister of Finland (1991-1995)²
Dr Shamshad Akhtar
UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP & Assistant Secretary-General at UN DESA (2013-2018); Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (2006-2009)¹

HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud
Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies³
Amat Alsoswa
UN Assistant-Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for the Arab States Bureau (2006-2012)¹
HE Dr Abdulaziz Altwaijri
Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1991-2019)³
Mohamed Amersi
Founder & Chairman, The Amersi Foundation
Baroness Valerie Amos
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator (2010-2015); Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom (2003)¹
Professor Nava Ashraf
Professor of Economics & Research Director of the Marshall Institute, LSE
Shaukat Aziz
Prime Minister of Pakistan (2004-2007)³⁴
Bertrand Badré
Managing Director & Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank (2013-2016)
Gordon Bajnai
Prime Minister of Hungary (2009-2010)
Jan Peter Balkenende
Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2002-2010)²
Ed Balls
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, United Kingdom (2007-2010); Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury (1997-2004)
Professor Oriana Bandiera
Director of STICERD & Professor of Economics, LSE
Kaushik Basu
President of the International Economic Association; Chief Economist of the World Bank
(2012-2016)
Carol Bellamy
Executive Director of UNICEF (1995-2005)¹

Nicolas Berggruen
Chairman of the Berggruen Institute⁴
Professor Erik Berglöf
Director of the Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics; Chief Economist of the EBRD (2006-2014)
Sali Berisha
President of Albania (1992-1997); Prime Minister (2005-2013)³
Suman Bery
Chief Economist at Royal Dutch Shell (2012-2016); Director-General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi
Sir Tim Besley
President of the International Economic Association (2014-2017); Professor of Economics and Political Science, LSE
Valdis Birkavs
Prime Minister of Latvia (1993-1994)²

Tony Blair
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007)
Dr Mario Blejer
Governor of the Central Bank of Argentina (2002); Director of the Centre for Central Banking Studies, Bank of England (2003-2008)
Irina Bokova
Director-General of UNESCO (2009-2017)¹
Patrick Bolton
Professor of Finance and Economics, Imperial College London; Professor, Columbia University
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Prime Minister of Norway (1997-2000; 2001-2005)²
Dumitru Braghiș
Prime Minister of Moldova (1999-2001)³
Lakhdar Brahimi
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria (1991-1993); UN & Arab League Envoy to Syria (2012-2014); Member of The Elders⁵
María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila
Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador (1999-2004)¹
Gordon Brown
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2007-2010)
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Prime Minister of Norway (1990-1996); Director General of the WHO (1998-2003); Member of The Elders²
John Bruton
Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (1994-1997)²⁵
Robin Burgess
Professor of Economics, LSE
Micheline Calmy Rey
President of Switzerland (2007; 2011)²⁵
Kim Campbell
Prime Minister of Canada (1993)²
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
President of Brazil (1995-2003)²
Wendy Carlin
Professor of Economics, University College London
Hikmet Çetin
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey (1991-1994)³
Baroness Lynda Chalker
Minister of Overseas Development of the United Kingdom (1989-1997)⁵
HE Joaquim Chissano
President of Mozambique (1986-2005)²
Professor Bai Chong-En
Dean, Tsinghua School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University
Helen Clark
Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999-2008); UNDP Administrator (2009-2017)²⁵
Joe Clark
Prime Minister of Canada (1979-1980)⁵
Emil Constantinescu
President of Romania (1996-2000)³
Radhika Coomaraswamy
UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict (2006-2012); UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (1994-2003)¹
Ertharin Cousin
Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (2012-2017)¹
Professor Diane Coyle CBE
Co-Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Chester Crocker
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, United States (1981-1989)⁵
Mirko Cvetković
Prime Minister of Serbia (2008-2012)³
Marzuki Darusman
Attorney General of Indonesia (1999-2001)⁵
Gavyn Davies
Co-Founder & Chairman, Fulcrum Asset Management; Chief Economist & Chairman of
Global Investment Dept, Goldman Sachs (1988-2001); Chairman, BBC (2001-2004)
Frederik Willem de Klerk
State President of South Africa (1989-1994)⁵
Álvaro de Soto
UN Under-Secretary-General (1999-2007)⁵
Kemal Derviş
Minister of Economic Affairs of Turkey (2001-2002); Administrator of UNDP (2005-2009);
Senior Fellow Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institute
Mathias Dewatripont
Professor of Economics, Université libre de Bruxelles
Božidar Djelić
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (2007-2011)
Beatrice Weder di Mauro
President, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Professor of International
Economics, Graduate Institute in Geneva

The Hon. Mark Dybul, MD
Executive Director of the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (2012-2017); Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact & Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center
Dr Victor J. Dzau
President of the National Academy of Medicine
Hans Eichel
Minister of Finance of Germany (1999-2005); Co-Founder of the G20
Barry Eichengreen
Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
Mohamed ElBaradei
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009)⁵
María Fernanda Espinosa
President of the UN General Assembly (2018-2019); Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Ecuador (2007; 2017-2018) & Minister of Defence (2012-2014)¹
Gareth Evans
Foreign Minister of Australia (1988-1996); President and CEO of International Crisis
Group (2000-2009)⁵
Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar
Director of the Wellcome Trust
Christiana Figueres
Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010-2016)¹
Jan Fischer
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (2009-2010); Finance Minister (2013-2014)³
Joschka Fischer
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Chancellor of Germany (1998-2005)
Franco Frattini
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy (2002-2004; 2008-2011); European Commissioner (2004-2008)³
Louise Fréchette
UN Deputy Secretary-General (1998-2006)⁵
Ahmed Galal
Finance Minister of Egypt (2013-2014)
Nathalie de Gaulle
Chairwoman & Co-founder of NB-INOV; Founder of Under 40³
Professor Maitreesh Ghatak
Professor of Economics, LSE
Professor Ian Goldin
Chief Executive & Managing Director of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (1996-2001); Vice President of the World Bank (2003-2006)
Felipe Gonzalez
Prime Minister of Spain (1982-1996)²⁴
Dr Lawrence Gonzi
Prime Minister of Malta (2004-2013)⁵
Rebeca Grynspan
Ibero-American Secretary-General; Second Vice President of Costa Rica (1994-1998); UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP (2010-2014)¹
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of Mauritius (2015-2018)³
Sergei Guriev
Chief Economist of the EBRD (2016-2019); Professor of Economics, Sciences Po
Alfred Gusenbauer
Chancellor of Austria (2000-2008)²
Tarja Halonen
President of Finland (2000-2012)²
Dr Han Seung-soo
Prime Minister of South Korea (2008-2009)²
Ameerah Haq
UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support (2012-2014) & Special Representative of
the Secretary General in Timor Leste (2009-2012)¹
Dr Noeleen Heyzer
Member of the High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation of the UN Secretary-General; UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP (2007-2014)¹³

Arianna Huffington
Founder & CEO of Thrive Global; Co-Founder of The Huffington Post⁴
Mo Ibrahim
Founder of Celtel; Chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation⁴
Enrique Iglesias
Foreign Minister of Uruguay (1985-1988); President of the Inter-American Development Bank (1988-2005)²⁵
Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (2004-2014)³
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva
President of Kyrgyzstan (2010-2011)²
Dalia Itzik
Interim President of Israel (2007); President of the Knesset (2006-2009)³
Gjorge Ivanov
President of North Macedonia (2009-2019)³
Harold James
Professor of European Studies & Professor of History and International Affairs, Princeton University
Hina Jilani
Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan; Member of The Elders
HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President of Liberia (2006-2018); Member of The Elders
Mehdi Jomaa
Prime Minister of Tunisia (2014-2015)²
Anthony Jones
Vice-President and Executive Director of the Gorbachev Foundation of North America²
Dr Lee Jong-
Wha
Professor of Economics, Korea University; Chief Economist & Head of the Office of Regional Economic Integration at the Asian Development Bank (2007-2013)
Ivo Josipović
President of Croatia (2010-2015)³
Angela Kane
UN Under-Secretary-General for Management (2008-2012); UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (2012-2015)¹
Mats Karlsson
Vice President, External Affairs at the World Bank (1999-2011)³
Caroline Kende-Robb
Executive Director of the Africa Progress Panel (2011-2017); Secretary General of CARE International (2018-2020)
Kerry Kennedy
President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights³
Igor Khalevinsky
Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (2003-2009)³
HE Jakaya Kikwete
President of Tanzania (2005-2015)
Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General (2007-2016); Deputy Chair of The Elders²
Jadranka Kosor
Prime Minister of Croatia (2009-2011)³
Professor Anne Krueger
First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF (2001-2006); Senior Research Professor of International Economics, School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
HE John Kufuor
President of Ghana (2001-2009)²
Chandrika Kumaratunga
President of Sri Lanka (1994-2005)²
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
President of Poland (1995-2005)²
Rachel Kyte
Dean of The Fletcher School, Tufts University; UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (2016-2019); World Bank Group VP & Special Envoy (2012-2015)¹
Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera
President of Uruguay (1990-1995)²
Hervé Ladsous
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (2011-2017)⁵
Ricardo Lagos
President of Chile (2000-2006); Member of the Elders²⁴
Zlatko Lagumdzija
Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001- 2002); Foreign Affairs Minister (2012-2015)²³

Mark Leonard
Co-Founder & Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations
Yves Leterme
Prime Minister of Belgium (2009-2011)²³
Professor Justin Yifu Lin
Chief Economist & Senior Vice-President of the World Bank (2008-2012); Dean of Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University³

Professor Elisabeth Lindenmayer
UN Assistant-Secretary-General (2004-2005); Executive Assistant to the UN Secretary-General (1997-2004)¹
Budimir Lončar
Minister of Foreign Affairs of SFR Yugoslavia (1987-1991)³
Petru Lucinschi
President of Moldova (1997-2001)³
Ricardo Luna
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru (2016-2018)⁵
Nora Lustig
President Emeritus of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association; Professor of Latin American Economics, Tulane University
Jessie Rose Mabutas
Assistant President of IFAD (2007-2009); Executive Board Member of the African Capacity Building Foundation¹
Graça Machel
Education & Culture Minister of Mozambique (1975-1986); Deputy Chair of The Elders
Sir John Major
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1990-1997)
Susana Malcorra
UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support (2008-2012); Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General (2012-2015); Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina (2015-2017)¹
Purnima Mane
UN Assistant-Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director UNFPA (2007-2012)¹
Giorgi Margvelashvili
President of Georgia (2013-2018)³
Dr Dalia Marin
Professor Emeritus, University of Munich
Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada (2003-2006)⁴
Colin Mayer CBE
Professor of Management Studies, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Carolyn McAskie
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Burundi (2004-2006); UN
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support (2006-2008)¹
Ambassador Donald F. McHenry
Ambassador and United States Permanent Representative to the UN (1979-1981)⁵
Péter Medgyessy
Prime Minister of Hungary (2002-2004)³
Rexhep Meidani
President of Albania (1997-2002)²³
Carlos Mesa
President of Bolivia (2003-2005)²
Stjepan Mesić
President of Croatia (2000-2010)³

Branko Milanović
Author of Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World (2019); Visiting Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, CUNY
Aïchatou Mindaoudou
UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Côte D’Ivoire (2013-2017); UN and AU acting Joint Special Representative in Darfur (2011-2013)¹
HE Benjamin Mkapa
President of Tanzania (1995-2005)²
Amre Moussa
Secretary General of the Arab League (2001-2011); Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt (1991-2001)³
Rovshan Muradov
Secretary General of NGIC
Joseph Muscat
Prime Minister of Malta (2013-2020)³
Mustapha Kamel Nabli
Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (2011-2012)
Piroska Nagy-Mohácsi
Programme Director of the Institute of Global Affairs, LSE; Director of Policy, EBRD (2009-2015)

Dawn Nakagawa
Executive Vice President, Berggruen Institute
Bujar Nishani
President of Albania (2012-2017)³
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
President of Nigeria (1999-2007)²
Punsalmaa Ochirbat
President of Mongolia (1990-1997)²
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Board Chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation; Finance Minister of Nigeria (2011-2015)
Lord Jim O’Neill
Chair of Chatham House
Djoomart Otorbayev
Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan (2014-2015)³
Leif Pagrotsky
Minister of Industry and Trade & Minister of Culture and Education of Sweden (1996-2006)
Ana Palacio
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain (2002-2004)¹³⁵
Professor David Pan
Executive Dean, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University³
Elsa Papademetriou
Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament (2007-2009)³
Andrés Pastrana
President of Colombia (1998-2002)²
J. Patterson
Prime Minister of Jamaica (1992-2005)²⁵
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1997-2000); Ambassador to the UN (1989-1992)⁵
Navi Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2008-2014)

Sir Christopher Pissarides
Nobel Laureate for Economics (2010); Professor of Economics & Political Science, LSE
Rosen Plevneliev
President of Bulgaria (2012-2017)³
Richard Portes CBE
Professor of Economics, London Business School; Founder and Honorary President of the Centre for Economic Policy Research
Jorge Quiroga
President of Bolivia (2001-2002)²
Zeid Raad al Hussein
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2014-2018); Member of the Elders
Iveta Radičová
Prime Minister of Slovakia (2010-2012)²
Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines (1992-1998)²⁵
Jose Ramos Horta
President of East Timor (2007-2012)²⁵
Dr Geeta Rao Gupta
Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF (2011-2016)¹
Òscar Ribas Reig
Prime Minister of Andorra (1982-1984; 1990-1994)²³
Hélène Rey
Professor of Economics, London Business School
Mary Robinson
President of Ireland (19990-1997); UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Chair of the Elders²
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Prime Minister of Spain (2004-2011)²
Dani Rodrik
President-Elect of the International Economic Association; Professor of International Political Economy, Harvard University
Gérard Roland
Professor of Economics & Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley
Petre Roman
Prime Minister of Romania (1989-1991)²³

Emma Rothschild
Professor of History & Director, Center for History and Economics, Harvard University
Kevin Rudd
26
th Prime Minister of Australia (2007-2010); President of the Asia Society Policy Institute²⁴
Isabel Saint Malo
Vice President of Panama (2014-2019)¹
Juan Manuel Santos
President of Colombia (2010-2018); Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2016); Member of The Elders

Kailash Satyarthi
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2014); Founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Global March Against Child Labour & Global Campaign for Education
Wolfgang Schüssel
Chancellor of Austria (2000-2007)²
Amartya Sen
Nobel Laureate for Economics (1998); Professor of Economics & Philosophy, Harvard University
Ismail Serageldin
Vice President of the World Bank (1992-2000); Co-Chair of NGIC
Fatiha Serour
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Somalia (2013-2014)¹
Rosalía Arteaga Serrano
President of Ecuador (1997)³

Professor John Sexton
President Emeritus, New York University; President (2002-2015); Dean, NYU School of Law (1988-2002)
Dame Jenny Shipley
Prime Minister of New Zealand (1997-1999)²
Javier Solana
Secretary General of the Council of the EU (1999-2009); Secretary General of NATO
(1995-1999)²⁵
Gillian Sorensen
UN Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations (1997-2003)¹

George Soros
Founder & Chair of the Open Society Foundations
Michael Spence
Nobel Laureate for Economics (2001); William R. Berkley Professor in Economics & Business, NYU⁴
Devi Sridhar
Professor of Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh
Dr Eduardo Stein
Vice President of Guatemala (2004-2008)⁵
Lord Nicholas Stern
Chief Economist & Senior Vice-President of the World Bank (2000-2003); Chief Economist of the EBRD (1994-1999) & Professor of Economics and Government, LSE

Joseph Stiglitz
Chief Economist of the World Bank (1997-2000); Nobel Laureate for Economics (2001); Professor, Columbia University⁴
Petar Stoyanov
President of Bulgaria (1997-2002)³
Laimdota Straujuma
Prime Minister of Latvia (2014-2016)³

Lawrence Summers
United States Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001); Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1995-1999); Chief Economist of the World Bank (1991-1993); Director of the National Economic Council (2009-2010)⁴
Boris Tadić
President of Serbia (2004-2012)²³
Jigme Y. Thinley
Prime Minister of Bhutan (2008-2013)²
Eka Tkeshelashvili
Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia (2010-2012)³
Danilo Türk
President of Slovenia (2007-2012); President of WLA-Club de Madrid
Cassam Uteem
President of Mauritius (1992-2002); Vice-President of WLA-Club de Madrid⁵
Juan Gabriel Valdés
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chile (1999); Ambassador to the UN (2000-2003)⁵
Marianna Vardinoyannis
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador³
Andrés Velasco
Finance Minister of Chile (2006-2010); Dean of the School of Public Policy, LSE

Ann M. Veneman
Executive Director of UNICEF (2005-2010); Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, United States (2001-2005)¹
Melanne Verveer
US Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues (2009-2013); Executive Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security¹
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
President of Latvia (1999-2007)²
Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden
President, Mannheim University (2012-2019); Professor, Economics Department
Filip Vujanović
President of Montenegro (2003-2018)³
Leonard Wantchekon
Founder & President of the African School of Economics; Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
Shang-Jin Wei
Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (2014-2016); Professor of Chinese Business and Economy & Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School
Dr Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury (2002-2012); Chair of Christian Aid
Elaine Wolfensohn
Co-Founder of the Wolfensohn Center for Development, Brookings Institution; Educational Specialist
James Wolfensohn
President of the World Bank (1995-2005)

George Yeo
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore (2004-2011)⁴
Professor Yu Yongding
President of the China Society of World Economy (2004-2006); Director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, China Academy of Social Sciences
Kateryna Yushchenko
First Lady of Ukraine (2005-2010)³
Viktor Yushchenko
President of Ukraine (2005-2010)³
Valdis Zatlers
President of Latvia (2007-2011)³
Ernesto Zedillo
President of Mexico (1994-2000); Member of The Elders²⁴
ActionAid UK
Girish Menon, CEO
African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
Dr K.Y. Amoako, President and Founder

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Dr Agnes Kalibata, President
Catholic Agency for Oversees Development (CAFOD)
Christine Allen, Director
Christian Aid
Amanda Mukwashi, CEO
Oxfam
Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO
Save the Children International
Inger Ashing, CEO
Save the Children UK
Kevin Watkins, CEO
Theirworld
Dr Justin van Fleet, President

WaterAid UK
Tim Wainwright, CEO
We are also grateful for the support from:
Šefik Džaferović
Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina³
Ken Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister of Ghana and Chair of the World Bank Development Committee

Notes
1 Member of Global Women Leaders: Voices for Change and Inclusion
2 Member of the World Leadership Alliance-Club de Madrid
3 Member of Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC)
4 Member of the Berggruen Institute 21st Century Council
5 Member of Global Leadership Foundation

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