G20 Members’ Evolving Strategies to Alleviate Debt Burden

July 16, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors will meet in Durban on Thursday and Friday to pursue the discussion. United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip the upcoming meeting, amid tensions between Washington and the BRICS countries.

G20 members are hoping to find a consensus on global financial reforms, as the bloc’s finance and central bank deputies are meeting in Durban on Monday and Tuesday.

Led by the current South African G20 presidency, countries aim to find new ways to alleviate debt burdens and provide better financing for developing nations. African nations are calling for change. High borrowing costs continue to deter investment and choke public spending on health, education, and infrastructure programmes.

The goal of the meeting is also to look at “the causes of debt”, according to Rashas Cassim, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. Developing nations argue that the current financial system is one of the reasons for persisting inequalities. African countries hope reforms could help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.