PRESS RELEASE : UK calls for reforms to address climate change at African Caucus [July 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 8 July 2023.

UK Minister for Development and Africa calls for financial reforms to tackle impact of climate change across Africa, as he visits Cape Verde.

• UK Minister for Development and Africa is visiting Cape Verde to attend the 2023 Caucus of African Governors of the World Bank and IMF
• Andrew Mitchell will call for urgent reforms to deliver a bigger, better and fairer international financial system in a speech to the Caucus
• he is also due to meet with the Prime Minister of Cape Verde to discuss the growing bilateral partnership between our countries

Today (Saturday 8 July), the UK Minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, is visiting Cape Verde to attend the 2023 African Caucus Meeting as the guest of honour. The Caucus convenes the African Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund alongside senior management from those institutions. It is the Minister’s first visit to Cape Verde in his current role, with the UK the only non-African country represented at the ministerial level.

In his closing speech to the Caucus, the Minister will call for the World Bank Group to stretch its existing resources further and mobilise significantly more private capital in order to tackle extreme poverty and help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change. In addition, he will call for a stronger offer for the poorest countries, and for a more shock-responsive World Bank Group that supports countries faster and more effectively in crises.

The Minister will also welcome the World Bank’s recent commitments to roll out climate resilient debt clauses, which allow countries to pause debt repayments if they are hit by a climate shock, and which the UK has been a leader on.

Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said:

The climate crisis is hitting millions of people first and hardest across Africa. As a result, we need urgently to deliver ambitious reforms to ensure that the international financial system helps the most vulnerable countries meet the enormous challenges they face.

I’m grateful for the kind invitation from African governors of the World Bank to speak at their annual gathering and emphasise how Britain will support them in our common endeavours.

The Minister is also due to meet Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva to discuss the UK’s growing partnership with Cape Verde, which now attracts 300,000 British tourists every year. It is the second most popular tourist destination in Africa for people from the UK. The conversation is also expected to cover maritime security cooperation, the new UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme, and growing collaboration on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) issues.

They will also discuss how the UK can support advocacy coordination among SIDS in Africa. The UK is a major supporter of efforts to drive international financial reform to support climate action for these states. Earlier this year, the UK committed £1 million to galvanise action ahead of next year’s once in a decade SIDS Conference, including helping them better prepare for climate crises.