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President laments lack of WHO-like body for economic recovery

05 Dec 2021

  • Urges wealthy nations and multilateral organisations to forgive, restructure, or grant moratoria for poorer countries’ debt repayments
While commending the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its leadership in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa noted that no global institution had similarly taken the lead in helping countries respond to the economic ramifications of the pandemic. Delivering the inaugural address at the Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) held under the theme “Ecology, Economy, Epidemic”, in Abu Dhabi, the UAE, last Saturday (4), President Rajapaksa had noted how the pandemic had affected economies worldwide, adding: “Developing countries in particular have been very badly impacted. The loss of revenue from tourism, the loss of foreign exchange remittances from expatriate workers, and the loss of export earnings have been especially devastating. “When combined with the high public expenditure necessary for healthcare and social welfare programmes, as well as the fiscal and monetary policies needed to support economic revival, many developing nations including Sri Lanka now find themselves in a very difficult situation. Countries that had taken on significant external debt to fund their development programmes are particularly badly affected, with very little reserves available to meet debt repayment obligations. “Sadly, in contrast to the leadership provided by the WHO for the global pandemic response, no world institution has stepped forward to help countries navigate their economic recovery. Inter-governmental groups, regional blocs, multilateral organisations, and individual countries that could have assumed such a role on behalf of the global economy have not done so.” He went on to note that despite both rich and poor countries alike being affected by Covid-19, poorer nations have had to bear the impact disproportionately, as their economies were not as capable of absorbing or compensating for the losses caused by the pandemic. “It is especially hard for economies that are already burdened with external debt obligations,” he noted. “It would therefore be greatly appreciated if more action could be taken by wealthy nations as well as multilateral organisations to forgive, restructure, or grant moratoria for the debt repayments of poorer countries struggling in the wake of the pandemic. This kind of support would greatly help those countries in their time of need, and more broadly, assist a speedier global recovery.” During his address, President Rajapaksa also commended the level of international co-operation during the initial stages of the pandemic, which included sharing data and technical expertise, supporting capacity building in healthcare systems, and providing financial assistance. He also delved into Sri Lanka’s efforts to control the pandemic through public health measures and an expedited vaccination drive, which, he noted, owed its success to Sri Lanka’s Armed Forces, while also expressing gratitude for vaccine donations from India, China, the US, and Japan. He also noted: “The measures taken worldwide to combat the pandemic, although they proved invaluable in saving countless lives, came at a steep cost. The rapid decline in economic activity these measures caused have had serious long-term consequences on global travel, trade, and economic growth.” It was here that he focused on the negative economic consequences of the pandemic, before going on to note that the ongoing climate crisis poses another difficult challenge to humanity. “As the recent United Nations (UN) Climate Conference has shown, achieving truly global consensus on this critical issue is difficult,” he stated. “Nevertheless, global action on limiting deforestation, curbing use of fossil fuels, preventing overexploitation of finite resources, and increasing use of renewable energy is essential.” “As a developing island nation that is very vulnerable to climate change, Sri Lanka is deeply aware of these dangers. Adverse weather patterns caused by climate change have already affected the country on several occasions in the past decade. There is every likelihood that the impact of these phenomena will worsen in time to come. We must act now before it is too late.” After detailing some of the many measures Sri Lanka has taken in response to the climate crisis, President Rajapaksa discussed the maritime disaster that resulted from the MV X-Press Pearl catching fire and sinking off the country’s coast, while noting that a similar disaster had been averted less than a year before this, when a fire broke out aboard the MT New Diamond vessel, which had been transporting crude oil. “Both these incidents point towards the urgent need for stricter controls surrounding the oceanic transport of hazardous and environmentally sensitive materials. Similar controls also need to be imposed on overfishing and ecologically damaging practices including bottom trawling, long-line fishing, and blast fishing in the Indian Ocean region,” he stated. “These practices severely deplete fish stocks, result in wasteful bycatch of marine species, and cause devastation to other organisms that are critical to sustaining marine ecosystems. Extra-territorial fishing by well-equipped trawlers is another significant problem in the region that affects the livelihoods of poor communities that rely on local fishing for their sustenance. “Co-ordinated action to mitigate such issues will be critical in sustaining the overall ecology and the viability of local economies in the Indian Ocean region in the future. I therefore propose the establishment of a regional mechanism to co-ordinate such issues relating to sustainability.” He went on to note: “Another critical area of focus for countries in the Indian Ocean region and our global partners is security. A considerable proportion of the world’s trade in commodities and manufactured goods takes place through the Indian Ocean region. Maintaining the integrity of its sea lines of communication (SLOC) is therefore of utmost importance to the global economy. “In this context, however, it must be admitted that the Indian Ocean region is also the location of considerable criminal activity, including human smuggling, drugs smuggling, and terrorism. These are all major issues that need to be addressed.” Noting that thwarting drug smuggling and human trafficking would require co-ordinated efforts between nations, he stated: “As Sri Lanka’s experience with the devastating Easter Sunday attacks of 2019 has shown, this problem too is not one that can be contained to any specific locality. Extremist and terrorist ideology can spread with ease from nation to nation unless carefully monitored and suppressed. “The only way to do this is through intelligence sharing and other forms of inter-governmental action, which I strongly advocate for. I am confident that with greater international co-operation, countries in our region will be able to better withstand all the challenges that they face in terms of ecology, economy, and epidemics.” President Rajapaksa concluded with the assurance that Sri Lanka would fully co-operate in any regional mechanisms proposed to meaningfully accomplish this.


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