Former Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya has called for a fundamental review of global financial rules, arguing that the high cost and limited availability of capital are holding back development across Africa and other low- and middle-income economies.
She said the international financial system needed to become more responsive to the realities facing developing countries, particularly in accessing affordable financing for large-scale investments in infrastructure and digital transformation.
Ms González Laya, who is Co-Chair of the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition (FDCC), made the call in an interview with Bernard Avle on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, September 14, 2026.
She is in Ghana alongside other dignitaries for an event organised by the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) under the theme, “Securing Africa’s Future.”
According to her, the current cost of capital for low- and middle-income countries was too high and financing was not available at the scale required to support their development ambitions.
“There are rules that are not fit for purpose. And we will be saying this is not made for today,” she said.
She argued that reforms were particularly necessary in areas such as risk assessment, pricing and guarantees to enable more capital to flow into developing economies.
AFRICA MUST IMPLEMENT ITS OWN COMMITMENTS
Ms González Laya, however, cautioned that reforming the international financial architecture alone would not resolve Africa’s development challenges.
She said African governments must also demonstrate stronger commitment to implementing agreements and policies they had already adopted.
She cited the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as an example of an initiative with enormous potential to transform the continent’s economic prospects, but whose benefits depended heavily on implementation.
She said greater integration of African markets could strengthen the continent’s resilience, boost intra-African trade and reduce dependence on volatile external export markets.
“Africa took an enormous step forward by building the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” she said.
However, she said the major obstacle to the implementation of the agreement was not necessarily the international financial system, but whether African governments were prepared to honour their commitments and remove remaining barriers to trade among themselves.
“What’s hampering the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement today are not international rules. It is whether or not the governments are ready to implement the commitments they took,” she said.
AGENCY MUST COME WITH RESPONSIBILITY
Ms González Laya said Africa’s push for greater control over its development agenda must be accompanied by a willingness to take responsibility for delivering results.
She called for governments, businesses and civil society organisations to be empowered to become active participants in shaping solutions to the continent’s challenges.
She said the debate should therefore focus not only on making global rules more suitable for developing countries, but also on strengthening the capacity of local actors to drive change.
“How do we get the rules to be more fit for purpose? But also how can we empower governments and beyond governments, businesses, civil society to be actors for change?” she asked.
She stressed that greater agency created both opportunities and responsibilities for African countries and other stakeholders.
“Because if it is about agency, there are opportunities, but there is also responsibility,” Ms González Laya added.
