Egypt's President El-Sisi to Trump: exert all your efforts to end war in Gaza and allow entry of aid
'He is capable of stopping the war,' El-Sisi said.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Fair climate finance requires debt reform
When delegates from around the world convened in Bonn, Germany, for the 62nd session of the UN Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies, the specter of sovereign debt loomed large. For African countries, in particular, debt is no longer a problem unfolding in parallel with escalating climate shocks and widening development deficits, but rather the key obstacle to effective crisis responses. Debt reform and climate finance are two sides of the same coin. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, African countries owe $655 billion in external debt, while debt-service payments have more than doubled since 2010, driven by rising interest rates and currency depreciation. This year, the continent's collective debt-service bill will amount to a whopping $79 billion. In 2023, 34 African countries spent more on debt service than on health or education, let alone disaster relief or green infrastructure. Comprehensive debt cancelation is a prerequisite to progress on sustainable development. But it is only the beginning. Shaped by colonial power dynamics, the global financial architecture is practically designed to entrench inequality. When issuing loans to developing economies, institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank often impose conditions that constrain these countries' fiscal space and hardwire austerity into domestic policy. Short-term relief thus comes with long-term shackles. Many believe that mobilizing private investment is the key to closing the climate finance gap. 'Derisking' climate finance and attracting private capital through tools such as green bonds and blended finance are among the G20's flagship priorities. The decision on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, made at COP29 in Baku last year, likewise emphasizes the importance of private sector participation. South Africa, which assumed the G20 presidency in December 2024, has echoed this approach. For example, at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in February, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on the private sector, together with international financial institutions and development banks, to implement 'innovative financing and insurance mechanisms' aimed at scaling up funding for disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction. But the private sector has long struggled to engage effectively in climate negotiations or identify viable projects that serve climate, development and commercial objectives simultaneously. Since the infrastructure projects that are needed to strengthen climate resilience mature over a period of 20 to 30 years, countries need reliable access to long-term finance. But credit markets operate on three to five-year time horizons, meaning that borrowers often end up scrambling for more capital, which can be both unpredictable and expensive. According to the ONE Campaign, the average interest rate on bonds for African countries in 2021 was 5.78 percent, compared to 1.14 percent on loans from the World Bank. These countries will pay $56 billion in additional interest over the lifetime of loans contracted in 2017 to 2021, compared to what they would have paid if they had borrowed at World Bank rates. The much-touted 'blended finance' model does not solve this problem, because it often combines public and private funds in ways that leave countries exposed to credit market risk. Private finance is structurally biased against the Global South, owing partly to fundamental flaws in sovereign risk assessments. Mohamed Adow The real issue is that private finance is structurally biased against the Global South, owing partly to fundamental flaws in sovereign risk assessments. If the private sector is to help close the climate finance gap without trapping developing countries in cycles of repayment and dependency, we must first resolve the information asymmetries that enable credit rating agencies and institutional investors to define 'risk' in ways that penalize developing economies. Ramaphosa — who has voiced support for reforming global credit-rating systems — should help spearhead this process. At the same time, however, we must recognize the limits of private capital, particularly when it comes to financing for adaptation and loss and damage. There is no substitute for a major expansion of grants and public financing. The responsibility for tackling biases in the global financial system falls on the entire international community — not least the advanced economies that are now cutting their climate aid budgets. Nonetheless, African countries must take more responsibility for driving change. Africa has often failed to take a unified approach to global issues and maximize its collective bargaining power. Consider the Baku to Belem Roadmap — a joint initiative by the COP29 and COP30 presidencies to deliver at least $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035. Though the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat and the COP30 presidency began regional consultations on the roadmap in February, inviting stakeholders to share their input, Africa has not submitted an aligned position or set of recommendations. Meanwhile, many African countries pursue bilateral debt deals in isolation, while others are entangled in opaque and protracted restructuring processes like the G20's Common Framework for Debt Treatments. Zambia's debt restructuring, for example, dragged on for more than three years. What is needed now is for African countries to build a consensus around a common agenda that links COP30 to the G20. Priorities must include comprehensive debt cancelation for climate-vulnerable countries; the reform of credit rating systems and capital cost structures that unfairly penalize African economies; and the greater use of instruments such as grants to finance climate action. A global taxation regime, which could use revenues to fund resilience in developing economies, should also be on the table. Such efforts should build on existing initiatives and proposals, such as the proposed UN Framework Convention on Sovereign Debt, which would offer a credible, cooperative and rights-based approach to debt reform. The Africa Climate Summit, convening in Addis Ababa this September, will serve as an important moment to cement progress and speak with a unified voice in advance of COP30. Along with South Africa, the African Union — now a permanent member of the G20 — should play a leading role in this process, steering global debates toward the creation of a financial system that reflects today's multipolar realities, not the colonial dynamics of the past. This is a matter of justice, not charity. And, with developing economies on the front line of the climate crisis, it could not be more urgent.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iran announces formation of National Defense Council
Iran on Sunday announced the establishment of a new National Defense Council, tasked with centrally reviewing defense strategies and enhancing the country's military capabilities. The new body will 'review defense plans and enhance the capabilities of the armed forces in a centralized manner,' state media reported, citing the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. The council will be chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian and will bring together senior leadership from across Iran's government and military establishment. Its members will include the speaker of parliament, the head of the judiciary, top commanders from the armed forces, and select ministers from relevant ministries. The council's creation was approved by the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security body, under Article 176 of the country's constitution. Earlier on Sunday, Iranian army chief Amir Hatami said threats from Israel remain serious. 'A 1 percent threat must be perceived as a 100 percent threat. We should not underestimate the enemy and consider its threats as over,' Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency, adding that Iran's missile and drone power 'remains standing and ready for operations.' In June, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian territory, including on nuclear facilities, during what has been dubbed the 12-day war. Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drone attacks against Israel. Last month, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that his country would strike Iran again if threatened.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Turkey condemns Jewish prayer on Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Ankara on Sunday blasted an Israeli government minister for conducting a Jewish prayer on the Al-Aqsa compound in east Jerusalem. In a highly controversial move, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir publicly conducted on Sunday a Jewish prayer at the mosque's compound, which is Islam's third-holiest site, and sits on the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest place. 'We strongly condemn the raid carried out on the Al-Aqsa Mosque by certain Israeli ministers, under the protection of Israeli police and accompanied by groups of Israeli settlers,' the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. 'The security of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the preservation of Jerusalem's sacred identity are not only regional priorities but also a primary responsibility on behalf of humanity's collective conscience,' it said. Jewish religious rituals are prohibited in the compound by a long-standing agreement between Israel and Jordan, custodian of the site. In recent years, the understanding, known as the 'status quo' has been repeatedly violated by Jewish visitors, including members of Israel's parliament.
