From Malay Mail · · 2m
Anwar to Brics: debt should not outrank people
At the Brics summit, Malaysia's PM argued that poor countries paying more in interest than on schools need a different financing system.
In brief
At the Brics summit, Malaysia's PM argued that poor countries paying more in interest than on schools need a different financing system. Anwar's pitch is practical, not just moral: fairer lending terms, local currency settlement and shared tech know-how so developing economies are not squeezed between creditors and…
A choice no country should face
Anwar told the 18th Brics Leaders Summit in New Delhi that developing nations are being forced to pick between paying creditors and serving their own people.
“No nation should be forced to choose between honouring its debts and honouring its obligations to its people.”
Interest bills beat school bills
Many developing countries are in debt distress or close to it. Some now spend more on interest payments than on educating children or treating the sick.
Financing fit for purpose
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said covering basic needs and public goods should not saddle a country with debt it cannot carry.
Where the money comes from
He backed commercial capital on sound, sustainable terms, and pushed for progress on the New Development Bank, local currency settlement and Islamic capital markets.
Fix trade, share the tech
He urged concrete steps to dismantle unfair trading practices, plus shared training and technical cooperation in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
Green, at different speeds
Countries should transition along their own paths according to circumstance and stage of development, with investment in carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
“We need to invest in technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage as part of our own transition.”
Less reliance on the West
Anwar framed Brics as a geo-economic advantage: a vast integrated market that lets members diversify trade away from traditional Western buyers.
“The synergies that are created, exploited and optimally utilised will serve as an impetus for the generation of economic growth and shared prosperity.”
War in the way of growth
Inclusive prosperity cannot be discussed while conflict in West Asia lifts energy prices and threatens shipping lanes. He said the powerful bear the duty to stop escalation.
“Sovereignty must be respected, civilians protected and the arteries of the global economy kept out of the battlefield.”
Strategic autonomy, stated plainly
Malaysia wants Brics to say occupation and settler colonialism cannot become destiny. As a Partner Country, it wants the freedom to choose its course and stand by it.
“No life weighs less for where it is lived.”
The essence
Anwar's pitch is practical, not just moral: fairer lending terms, local currency settlement and shared tech know-how so developing economies are not squeezed between creditors and citizens.
