Online Expert Panel: Sharing Responsibilities As Well As Benefits? The Global Debt Crisis and the Role Of Private Creditors

The results of the G20 initiatives to relieve the debt of the Global South, which has been hard hit economically by the pandemic, are sobering. Many eligible countries are reluctant to enter into negotiations. They fear that debt relief will cut off their long-term access to private capital markets and cause them to lose the confidence of private investors. These concerns have been reinforced by creditors, especially from the private sector. And the G20? Despite its commitment to private sector participation in the Common Framework for Debt Treatments, it has so far not found the political will to make such participation mandatory. However, this would be a key step to shield debtor countries from uncooperative creditors and achieve substantial debt relief.

In the run-up to the joint meeting of G20 health and finance ministers this October we have invited international experts from academia, government and the private sector to discuss on the following questions among others:

• Is there empirical evidence that debt relief excludes countries from much-needed development finance?

• On what grounds could the participation from the private sector in official debt relief initiatives, comparable to other creditors, be expected?

• In what ways can the G20 compel private sector participation and equal burden sharing?

AGENDA

• Opening remarks - Annette Schlicht, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

• Introduction and Moderation - Kristina Rehbein, erlassjahr.de

• Presentations and panel discussion

  • Aitor Erce, Advisor to the Chief Economist of the African Development Bank, Visiting Professor at the School of European Political Economy (LUISS) and Research Fellow at Navarra Public University

  • Moritz Krämer, Chief Economist, Countryrisk.io

  • Valentin Lang, Assistant Professor for International Political Economy and Development, University of Mannheim

  • Dr. Nadine Kalwey, Head of the Division I C 3 in the German Federal Finance Ministry

• Q&A