Pakistan takes G-24 chair with a pitch to redraw global finance for developing economies
Pakistan has taken the chair of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four, and its finance minister used the moment to argue that the international financial system has not caught up with the economies it is meant to serve. Muhammad Aurangzeb set three priorities for the chairmanship: putting development at the centre of global economic policymaking, strengthening developing economies' representation in multilateral institutions, and reforming the international financial architecture, the Finance Division said in a statement.
"The future of developing economies is not peripheral to the future of the global economy. It is central to it," Aurangzeb said, pointing to their potential to drive investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and growth. He called for more equitable governance and meaningful participation in the Bretton Woods institutions so they better reflect members' evolving needs, and said macroeconomic stability should serve investment, productivity, employment and shared prosperity, letting developing and low-income countries move beyond crisis management.
The agenda also covers affordable and timely development financing, sustainable debt solutions, stronger global financial safety nets, climate resilience and greater mobilisation of public and private capital. "Our task is to ensure that the immense potential of developing economies is not constrained by an international financial architecture that has yet to fully adapt to a changing world," Aurangzeb said. Drawing on Pakistan's own stabilisation and reform experience, he stressed aligning financial stability with long-term development goals while giving reforming economies enough financing and policy space to grow.
Aurangzeb said Pakistan would work with G-24 members across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other partners, to turn shared priorities into practical outcomes. He acknowledged Nigeria's leadership as outgoing chair and pledged to build on the group's progress. "The true measure of our collective leadership will not simply be the strength of our voice, but the difference that voice makes," he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the chairmanship as a significant diplomatic milestone recognising Pakistan's role in the global economy, and credited Aurangzeb and the Ministry of Finance team for the effort. He said it would strengthen Pakistan's voice in global economic affairs.
