Yunus vouches for voice of Bangladesh at G20
Courtesy 07/04/11
Prof Muhammad Yunus has urged France to take bold steps to reform the G20 to include developing countries such as Bangladesh in the group, as the global economic system is "much too narrow" in the current framework.
On March 25, the Grameen Bank founder wrote a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, requesting him to give more voices to the developing countries, as the economic system has been the main reason for the widely creeping poverty in many countries.
The Nobel laureate has been promoting the possibility of including developing countries in the group after reforms. G20 countries collectively produce 85 percent of the global gross national product, control 80 percent of the world trade (including EU intra-trade) and accommodate two-thirds of the world population.
In his letter to the French president, the microfinance pioneer has argued that developing countries should commit to taking control of their own future. Through this initiative, developing countries such as
Last year, Yunus had a discussion with the French president about how to enlarge the G20 to G25, by including five low-income and developing countries in the group to enable them to propose concrete, visible steps towards a broader approach to economic governance of global issues.
In response to Yunus's proposal, Sarkozy said on Tuesday that
As for including
Sarkozy has offered a three-pronged agenda for
He welcomed Yunus's proposal to enlarge the composition of the Group to allow developing countries to participate. He has also invited the Grameen Bank founder to further discuss these issues and to further enhance the initiative on the issue of poverty and exclusion.
Sarkozy wrote that he was counting on the support of Prof Yunus to take forward the G20 in two directions which, as much as Prof Yunus, Sarkozy considers necessary: economic development on one side, and the social aspects of globalisation, on the other.
The French President praised Grameen Bank, which has ensured access to credit for poor people of
"The world needs innovative projects to fight poverty and inequalities, and the creation of Grameen Bank was an audacious initiative, which has been a source of inspiration for the international community," he said.
The G20 is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the president of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.
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