This weekend the UK Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, visited Cape Verde to attend the 2023 African Caucus Meeting as the guest of honour. The Caucus convenes the African Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund alongside senior management from those institutions. It is the Minister’s first visit to Cape Verde in his current role, with the UK the only non-African country represented at the ministerial level.
The Minister is calling for the World Bank Group to stretch its existing resources further and mobilise significantly more private capital in order to tackle extreme poverty and help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change. In addition, he calls for a stronger offer for the poorest countries, and for a more shock-responsive World Bank Group that supports countries faster and more effectively in crises.
The Minister has welcomed the World Bank’s recent commitments to roll out climate resilient debt clauses, which allow countries to pause debt repayments if they are hit by a climate shock, and which the UK has been a leader on.
Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said:
The climate crisis is hitting millions of people first and hardest across Africa. As a result, we need urgently to deliver ambitious reforms to ensure that the international financial system helps the most vulnerable countries meet the enormous challenges they face.
I’m grateful for the kind invitation from African governors of the World Bank to speak at their annual gathering and emphasise how Britain will support them in our common endeavours.
The Minister was also due to meet Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva to discuss the UK’s growing partnership with Cape Verde, which now attracts 300,000 British tourists every year. It is the second most popular tourist destination in Africa for people from the UK. The conversation is also expected to cover maritime security cooperation, the new UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme, and growing collaboration on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) issues.
Earlier this year, the UK committed £1 million to galvanise action ahead of next year’s once in a decade SIDS Conference, including helping them better prepare for climate crises.
Story/image: gov.uk
