At G20 Leaders’ Summit, Tinubu Demands Fair Handling of Global Financial Flows, Recurring Debt Crises

At G20 Leaders’ Summit, Tinubu Demands Fair Handling of Global Financial Flows, Recurring Debt Crises

At the Third Session of the 2025 Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in South Africa, President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivered a strong call for reform in the global financial system.

Speaking under the summit’s theme, “A Fair and Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence,” Tinubu emphasized the urgent need for a more equitable and responsive framework to manage international financial flows and address recurring debt crises in a manner that reflects the realities of developing nations.

Tinubu argued that the current multilateral frameworks are outdated, having been built in an era far removed from today’s complexities. He stressed that many developing countries, particularly in Africa, continue to grapple with systemic barriers that restrain economic growth, weaken trade, and limit financial inclusivity. According to him, only bold reforms of the international financial architecture and the institutions that sustain it can ensure fairness and inclusivity. He insisted that the G20 must take deliberate steps to place debt sustainability and responsible utilization of critical minerals at the heart of its agenda.

The Nigerian leader highlighted the importance of critical minerals, noting that for Africa, these resources are not merely natural deposits but hold the promise of industrial transformation. He urged that extraction and trade of such minerals must be governed by fairness, transparency, and accountability to ensure that wealth generated translates into shared progress for host communities.

Tinubu envisioned a future where Africa is not just a supplier of raw materials but a continent of value creation, innovation, and dignity in work.

On artificial intelligence, Tinubu expressed Nigeria’s support for the creation of global ethical standards that uphold safety, transparency, and equity. He warned against AI becoming a force of exclusion or displacement, instead urging that it be harnessed as a tool of empowerment and job creation. He called for deliberate partnerships between developed and developing nations, as well as between public and private sectors, to ensure that AI’s benefits are shared equitably and its risks responsibly managed.

Tinubu’s remarks underscored a broader vision of shared responsibility and global stewardship. He emphasized that critical minerals, decent work, and artificial intelligence are interconnected in shaping an economy that uplifts rather than excludes, measuring its strength not only by growth but by the dignity it affords every human being. His intervention at the summit was a demand for fairness, inclusivity, and a collective resolve to confront the persistent challenges facing Africa and other developing regions, particularly the rising debt burdens that continue to drag economies into cycles of fragility.

This special report captures Tinubu’s appeal for a paradigm shift in global economic governance, one that ensures Africa’s resources and potential are harnessed responsibly and equitably, while also safeguarding the future of work and technological innovation.