Nairobi — President William Ruto has called for urgent reforms to the global financial system, urging world leaders to reframe public debt as a tool for development rather than a burden.
The head of state speaking during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, emphasized the need for inclusive, fair, and affordable financing models that prioritize the needs of developing countries.
"We now have consensus on the need for a development-orientated sovereign debt architecture, where public debt is an instrument for development, not a trap," he said.
Kenya, alongside Colombia, France, and Germany, co-led an Independent Expert Review on Debt, Nature, and Climate, a move Ruto described as a model of "meaningful partnership for inclusive and sustainable growth."
The President also backed reforms to international financial institutions, particularly the IMF, stressing that the global financial system must enhance the voice and representation of developing nations.
He supported the rechanneling of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the Capital Adequacy Framework, and the inclusion of multidimensional vulnerability in financing access as key wins from the summit.
Calling out existing market biases, Ruto asserted that credit rating agencies such as Moody's also need to change their understanding of African economies.
He warned that without access to affordable capital and open global markets, development efforts will stall.
