UN secretary-general urges overhaul of international financial architecture, presses for SDG financing and tech inclusion for Africa

At a press conference in Addis Ababa, the United Nations secretary-general said the international financial architecture must be reformed so developing countries — particularly in Africa — have greater voice, representation and access to resources.

"We need more concessional funding," the secretary-general said, adding that multilateral development banks should be "bigger, bolder, more capitalized" and better able to attract private investment for developing countries. He said reforms should include an "effective mechanism of debt relief" for heavily indebted countries.

The appeal followed three days of meetings in Addis Ababa with African leaders, at which the secretary-general said the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations "has never been stronger." He tied the call for financial reforms to looming global targets, noting there are only about five years left to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The secretary-general also pressed for Africa’s inclusion in the technology race, saying "AI must stand for Africa included" as a matter of opportunity and capacity building.

He welcomed South Africa’s presidency of the G20 this year as an opportunity to "bring the interests of developing countries to the forefront" and said upcoming meetings — including a meeting in Seville — should move from agreement to implementation.

Why it matters: The secretary-general framed financial reform as both a corrective to historic inequalities and a practical necessity for achieving agreed global goals. He linked capitalizing multilateral development banks and attracting private finance to urgently meeting SDG targets and reducing dependency on expensive or unsustainable borrowing.

The secretary-general did not present a negotiated text or binding timetable for changes to global institutions; he said the proposals discussed have origins in the Summit of the Future and must now move to implementation. Details such as precise capital increases, funding sources or a legislative timeline for debt-relief mechanisms were not specified at the event.

The remarks came alongside other priorities the secretary-general listed for the continent: climate action and justice, technology inclusion, and sustaining peace.