Developing countries pay $500bn extra in borrowing costs, Oyedele tells IMF, World Bank
Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to make concessional loans more affordable, saying developing countries pay about $500 billion more in borrowing costs than developed economies.
Oyedele, who chairs the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24), made the call at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, while urging international financial institutions to help vulnerable economies manage debt pressures without imposing additional burdens on struggling households and productive businesses.
He argued that expensive borrowing was limiting developing countries’ capacity to invest in infrastructure, social services and other areas critical to economic growth.
“We call on both the IMF and the World Bank to find means of making particularly short-term, more affordable concessional borrowing available to particularly the vulnerable countries,” he said.
The minister said governments should prioritise domestic revenue mobilisation, eliminate wasteful spending and attract private investment rather than rely excessively on higher taxes to address fiscal challenges.
He stressed that although borrowing remained necessary for development, loans should produce tangible benefits, including job creation, inclusive growth and improved living standards.
Oyedele also called for international financial institutions to develop policies that would attract private capital, allowing governments to direct limited public resources towards essential services.
He urged the IMF and World Bank to support economic reforms that protect social spending and investment, while taking into account the political and social consequences of policy adjustments.
