Scicluna says Commonwealth countries better prepared to face financial crisis

Finance minister Edward Scicluna told the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting held in Washington DC on 8 October  that “although the age-old financial problems faced by many Commonwealth member countries are still with us today, our knowledge of finance is very different. So is the reaction to the crises by many advanced countries, including the European Union."

He told the meeting that while donations by many advanced countries to poorer countries have dried up because of the crises, it was good for the Commonwealth Secretariat to prepare the ground for its members in many respects to come out stronger and better prepared to face the bilateral and multi-lateral aid and trade agencies. In particular the Commonwealth toolkit on Innovative Finance for Development is one example.

During the meeting the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, who will be visiting Malta in the very near future, made reference to the active part Malta is taking in the area of the pilot study related to a trade finance facility.

Commonwealth Finance Ministers met in Washington DC to explore ways of financing the Post-2015 development agenda at a time when many countries are struggling to meet targets for combating poverty and improving the livelihoods of millions of their citizens.

The meeting took place in the margins of the 2014 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings. Ministers considered the findings of the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing. The report explores options for mobilising resources to achieve sustainable development goals.

The Ministerial meeting was preceded on 7 October by meetings of senior officials from the finance ministries of Commonwealth countries, and of Central Bank Governors who focused on implementing regulations to tackle money-laundering and for counter-terrorism financing.