Diplomat says UK prepared to help developing countries access concessional loans

By Kenton X. Chance

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (CMC) — The British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Scott Furssedonn-Wood, says the United Kingdom is keen to find a more sophisticated way of determining how developing countries can access concessional financing.

Caribbean countries have been pushing for a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI) rather than gross national income (GNI) to inform their ability to access developmental financing from international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Caribbean countries have argued that despite their GNI, a climate event can result in loss and damage amounting to a significant chunk of their gross domestic product (GDP).

The Barbados-based Furssedonn-Wood, who has entered the final months of his tour of duty, which began in April 2021, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), during a visit here that there are two issues regarding financing for development.

He said the first of which is the amount of money that is available “making sure that money exists so it’s there for countries to access, but perhaps even more importantly is this issue of how easy it is to access.

“We often hear from small island states in particular, that the procedures for applying for funds from things like the Green Climate Fund … that sometimes those processes are too onerous. They take too long. So, we’re really keen to try and find ways of streamlining a lot of those processes,” the diplomat said, noting that London has put a significant sum of money into the fund.

Furssedonn-Wood said using GNI per capita to determine eligibility to a lot of concessional financing is “a pretty crude measure and absolutely doesn’t reflect the real vulnerability that so many countries face.

“So, we’re really keen to ensure that we find a more sophisticated way of doing that, that properly reflects the realities that countries face.”

However, he said this is a decision for the Development Assistance Committee of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“We’re using our membership and our voice there to try and argue for a change in the system so it’s more fair,” Furssedonn-Wood said.

However, some Caribbean leaders, such as Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, have suggested that some international development financiers have organised their affairs in such a way as to pit one region of the developing world against the other.

Furssedonn-Wood said that Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley “has argued very powerfully that actually what’s needed is a sort of wholesale reform of the international financial system, that we’re working with institutions which were put in place after the Second World War”.

He said that at that time, “no one really conceived of small island, developing space existing in the way that they do — small countries — and certainly didn’t imagine the sort of challenges they’d be facing”.

He said that the UK is “a big supporter” of what Mottley is trying to do with the Bridgetown Initiative for the Reform of the Global Financial Architecture that seeks to address the way rich countries finance poor countries in a climate crisis.

“… we’re lending our voice on the global stage in support of that because it matters to the Caribbean, but also it matters to the whole of the Global South,” he said, adding “and we’re really keen to try and forge partnerships that matter.”

Some CARICOM countries have argued that reparation for slavery and native genocide would help address some contemporary developmental challenges.

Furssedonn-Wood noted that a new government was elected in the UK in July “and I know this is one of the issues that they’re going to be talking to governments in this region about as they meet individually…”

He said the issue might have been raised at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) meeting that was held in Samoa last week.

“I mean, it’s really important that we find ways of addressing the issues in our past, many of which continue to resonate to this day and to find a way of ensuring that where those injustices exist still, that we can work together to try and address the different ways of doing that,” Furssedonn-Wood said.

“But clearly, it’s vitally important that we have an international system that is fair so that countries can find ways to deal with those challenges they face, some of which, as you say, are deeply rooted in the past.”

In his address at the CHOGM, Britain’s King Charles III said that while “none of us can change the past” lessons must be learnt to “right inequalities that endure”.

He urged Commonwealth leaders, most of them heads of former British colonies, to find “creative ways” to address the past.

However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said reparations would not be on the agenda.

Meanwhile, Furssedonn-Wood said the UK’s relations with the countries to which he is accredited  “have been evolving over, over many years, over decades, centuries, even”.

He said that the connections are “deeply rooted in our shared history, much of which is very, very difficult history. But I think it is clear that our relationships today are vibrant and relevant.”

The diplomat said the connection includes businesses, trading, investment flowing in each direction, visitors, adding that the UK and the Caribbean work together to make a difference, both in the region and globally.

He noted the global impact of climate change, adding that the UK has been working to  bring down global emissions “so that we can try and stop it becoming an even bigger problem in future”, adding that working around the world to combat the effects of climate change is “a huge priority for our government”.

Furssedonn-Wood said the UK is very conscious that small island developing states in the Caribbean are “on the front line of a crisis that you didn’t cause.

“And so, … it’s a huge priority for us to work with the countries of this region to support your resilience to the effects of climate change, whether that’s in terms of building climate-resilient infrastructure across the region, whether it’s working with you to ensure that there are the right financial instruments in place to mitigate the risks that you face, or whether it’s supporting countries of this region after you are affected by a natural disaster caused by climate change, as we saw with Hurricane Beryl just a few months ago.”

The diplomat said London has been “very clear that the developed world does need to step up, and then we do take our responsibilities very, very seriously, and that the big emitters need to be doing their part to bring those emissions down and try and stop this crisis getting even worse”.

He told CMC big countries need to ensure that the finance is available to support the countries that are most vulnerable.

“The UK has absolutely done its bit. We hosted COP in Glasgow just a few years ago, and really used that as an opportunity to try and drive forward progress, and we tried to lead by example as well.”

Furssedonn-Wood pointed out that in September, for the first time in its modern history, the UK stopped generating electricity from coal, adding that more and more energy generation in the UK is from renewable energy sources.

“So, we’re trying to lead by example. We’re working globally to try and mobilise that finance that’s needed to support the most vulnerable countries, and then we’re working directly in regions like this to support that resilience at the grassroots level.

He said that beginning in 2015, the UK allocated US$500 million in grants for climate-resilient infrastructure projects in the Caribbean.

These include climate-resilient water projects, road projects, energy projects, and upgrading health facilities across the region.

“… we’ve got to keep advocating. I mean, we don’t need to speak for SIDS, because SIDS speak very powerfully for themselves, and particularly from this region, you’ve got some of the most eloquent, powerful voices on the world stage.

“But what we try and do is stand with small island developing states, lending our voice to support their voices, and where we have a voice in international fora that SIDS might not be represented with, we’re always keen to use our role to try and advance those, those issues,” Furssedonn-Wood said.