Rethinking International Cooperation and Partnerships for Improved Development Impact and Self-Sustainability in Africa

African countries suffer from higher costs of capital and the resulting constraints on governments’ abilities to respond to contracting global economic growth, major supply chain disruptions, and climate adaptation challenges. Schemes like official development assistance have left some countries with higher borrowing costs, leading to rapid increases in debt burden. As international asymmetries in development financing persist, and with the recent calls by African leaders for improved global governance rules, this policy brief considers changes in international cooperation and partnerships that could support Africa’s efforts towards building strong avenues to self-resiliency and sustainability. In this context, the brief will highlight practices in financing that can facilitate macroeconomic resilience in developing countries and offer some concrete proposals on: (i) modalities of international cooperation and partnerships that can strengthen Africa’s capacities to leverage existing financing tools; and (ii) the specific role the G20 could play in addressing global governance issues related to the reduction of the risk perception, the role of credit rating agencies, the rules related to exports credits, debt, and special drawing rights.