By DPA
Johannesburg : South African President Thabo Mbeki Sunday called for substantial reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to step up the fight against poverty in low-income countries.
Mbeki was speaking at the weekend G20 summit of finance ministers and central bank heads, which ended Sunday in Kleinmond, near Cape Town.
The G20 comprises the Group of Seven wealthiest nations (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US), the European Union and 12 other leading economies.
“This (change of the IMF and World Bank) is necessary because the current governance framework inadequately serves the collective and individual interests of the membership of the two institutions,” he said.
Reforming the governance of the two bodies would “help to accelerate the process of the eradication of global poverty,” he added.
Discussions at this year’s summit focused on currency volatility, especially the weak US dollar, rising prices of commodities including oil and reform of the IMF and World Bank.
The US dollar is trading at its lowest levels against the Canadian dollar in over a century at 97 cents to a dollar.