President Marcos' chief economic manager warned that developing countries,  including the Philippines, are at risk of falling even further behind as global economic growth is projected to decline for the third consecutive year.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that developing nations have now reached a critical point, where one out of every four countries is now experiencing heightened levels of poverty compared to the pre-pandemic period.

For this reason, Recto stressed the urgent need for decisive and concerted action to safeguard the progress achieved by these countries and prevent them from slipping into deeper economic woes. 

He then raised the need for increased support and proactive intervention from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to effectively address the challenges.

“I urge the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other partners to intensify their efforts in assisting developing countries to mitigate and reverse the factors threatening our growth prospects,” Recto said during the G-24 meeting in Washington D.C.

Recto pointed out that escalating geopolitical tensions add strain to an already struggling global economy grappling with high inflation, soaring interest rates, widening fiscal gaps, growing debts, and trade imbalances. 

Additionally, he raised concerns about the lurking threat of climate change, which is causing devastation in vulnerable nations, like the Philippines

Citing the World Bank, Recto highlighted a confluence of challenges that are expected to lead to a third consecutive year of declining global economic growth. 

This trend marks the slowest expansion of the global economy in any five-year period since the 1990s.

“Alarmingly, one in every four developing countries is now poorer than before the pandemic,” Recto said.

“Any slowdown in global economic performance will surely hit the developing economies the hardest. This poses a grave threat to the peace, economic security, and prosperity of all our people,” he added.

In light of these challenges, Recto said that the top priority for emerging markets and developing economies is to secure timely access to short-term liquidity and to acquire long-term financing at affordable rates.

“As the lender of last resort to most vulnerable countries, we call on the international financial institutions to develop more innovative and responsive financing solutions that will help us sustain productivity, enhance long-term growth prospects, and increase resilience to economic shocks,” Recto said.

“They must set more ambitious goals for their concessional and non-concessional windows, commensurate with the challenges of achieving inclusive and sustainable development by 2030,” he concluded.