Address by H.E. Akufo-Addo, Former President of Ghana at AU-EU High Level Seminar on 2 October 2025

On 2 October 2025, H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo delivered a keynote address at the High-Level Seminar “Tackling the Triple Crisis of Debt, Climate, and Development” at Press Club Brussels. The event, organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation Brussels, Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery (DRGR) Project, IDOS, ETTG, Misereor, Caritas Europa, and Caritas Africa, brought together policymakers and experts ahead of the upcoming EU-AU Summit.

Excellencies, Distinguished Leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we gather on the eve of the AU–EU summit, to mark 25 years of partnership, we are reminded that this milestone is not only a celebration of the past, but a gathering to decide what the next 25 years will mean for our people. For Africa, that future hangs in the balance.

I have witnessed, as President of Ghana, the immense toll that unsustainable debt places on nations, stifling growth and dimming the hopes of our people.  I witnessed the suffocating grip of debt on our economy and on our citizens. This deeply troubled me and still does.  Ghana’s experience with debt restructuring under the G20 Common Framework offered some relief, but it also exposed the deep structural weaknesses of the global financial system. The sobering truth is that, the global financial system is not built to free us. It is built to bind us.

And so today, I do not speak for Ghana alone. I speak for Africa- for millions whose futures depend on our courage in this moment. We must call with one united voice for a bold and comprehensive global debt relief initiative—an initiative that moves beyond temporary fixes. An initiative that delivers true economic liberation and lasting development for our continent.

Let me begin by painting a picture of the reality we face. Africa’s debt burden has ballooned to staggering levels. As of 2025, the continent’s external debt exceeds $ 1 trillion, more than double what it was just five years ago. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in 2023 developing countries together, paid nearly $487 billion in servicing external public debt. Think of that number: four hundred and eighty-seven billion dollars. For half of these nations, it meant sacrificing at least 6.5 percent of all their export earnings just to stay current on debt.

And in Africa, the reality is even starker. Research from Boston University and Christian Aid tells us that more than thirty African countries are now spending more on interest payments alone than on public health. Not on total debt service — only on interest. Money that does not build schools. Money that does not train nurses. Money that does not save a single life.

This is not simply an economic statistic. This is a moral indictment. Because every dollar diverted to creditors is a dollar taken from a hospital, from a child’s vaccination, from a community’s future.

The choice before us is clear. Will we allow nations to keep choosing between paying their creditors and protecting their citizens? Or will we summon the courage to reform a system that forces such a choice? The answer to that question will define not just our economies, but our humanity.

Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, twenty-one African countries stand either at high risk of debt distress or already trapped within it. And the trap is cruel: a vicious cycle where climate vulnerability feeds debt, and debt deepens climate vulnerability.

Our economies are among the most exposed to climate shocks anywhere in the world. Yet we are also among the least equipped, fiscally, to respond. The evidence is clear: the more climate-vulnerable a nation, the higher the cost of borrowing it must endure. This ‘climate risk premium’ inflates the price of capital for African governments, eroding fiscal space and crowding out priority social and infrastructure spending. The inevitable result is underinvestment. That underinvestment then heightens exposure to the next climate shock. And so the cycle spins, tightening its grip.

My friends, this crisis is not of Africa’s making alone. Global shocks—the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the mounting toll of climate disasters—have deepened vulnerabilities rooted in an international order that is profoundly unjust. African nations, rich in resources and potential, are forced to export raw materials at depressed prices while importing finished goods at a premium. Our debt-to-GDP ratios, averaging around 60-70%, may seem modest compared to the G7’s over 111%, but the terms are punitive. Interest rates for African borrowers are often double or triple those faced by wealthier nations, turning loans into shackles rather than lifelines. This is not economics. It is inequity.

Reflecting on Ghana’s journey, when my administration turned to the G20 Common Framework in 2023, the path was anything but straightforward. We faced delays, complex negotiations, and uneven burden-sharing. But persistence paid off. In 2024, we restructured about 13 billion dollars of Eurobonds and secured commitments that will deliver roughly 10.5 billion dollars in external debt service relief through 2026.

As a result of these efforts, our debt ratio—which had climbed to the mid-80s as a share of GDP—declined to about 70.5 percent in 2024. This progress underpinned our IMF programme and restored investor confidence. And with stability came momentum: Ghana’s economy grew by 5.7 percent last year, one of the strongest performances in Africa.”

But let us be clear: the process was sequential, not simultaneous. It prolonged uncertainty. It eroded investor confidence. And it inflicted a heavy cost at home that was a “dark cloud moment”, for me as President.  Domestic bondholders—pensioners, youth, ordinary Ghanaians—bore losses that shattered livelihoods. Even now, as Ghana begins to emerge, the relief feels less like a solution and more like a pause before the next storm.

The Framework we signed up to under the programme, while a step forward, is fundamentally flawed. It lacks binding rules to hold all creditors—public and private—to fair burden-sharing. It fails to address the structural roots of debt accumulation. In short, it offers reprieve, not resolution.

This is why Africa needs something bigger. Something bolder. A new global debt relief initiative—ambitious, equitable, and tailored to our realities. I have long called for the cancellation of Africa’s debts, as I did in 2021 on international platforms, urging debt forgiveness to unlock resources for development. Today, I renew that call.

Let us reflect  for one moment on a programme of ‘Debt Relief for Green Investment and Resilience’—linking debt cancellation directly to investments in climate adaptation and sustainable growth. Africa contributes less than 4 percent of global emissions, yet we suffer the brunt of climate change: droughts that ravage crops, floods that displace entire communities. It is time the world recognized this injustice—and acted with the urgency it demands.

Let me remind this gathering of a landmark truth. In an advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice affirmed the duty to make reparation for climate damages. That duty can take the form of restitution, compensation, satisfaction—or a combination of all three. And by even the most conservative estimates, the scale of such reparations runs into the trillions. Seen in that light, debt relief for Africa is not an act of generosity. It is an act of justice. For much of the debt we carry was incurred in responding to climate shocks not of our making.

But justice delayed is justice denied. That is why, as a pragmatic step, we must reform the G20 Common Framework to make it faster and fairer. As the African Union’s Debt Conference in Lomé emphasized earlier this year, all creditors—public, private, and multilateral—must be compelled to participate, ensuring comparability of treatment. The IMF and World Bank’s 2025 restructuring playbook is a beginning, but it must evolve into a binding global compact.

Comprehensive proposals already exist. The Debt Relief for Green and Inclusive Recovery Project has laid out solutions including targeted relief, lower interest rates, and longer maturities. Taken together, these could release billions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Yet debt relief, by itself, is not enough. It must be matched by Africa’s own reforms. I have long argued that our continent must move beyond aid—by embracing efficiency, transparency, and domestic resource mobilization. In Ghana, we digitized our tax system, strengthened the fight against corruption, and invested in education and agriculture. Across Africa, we must build stronger institutions, diversify our economies, and expand trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

But let us be clear: without global support, even the most courageous reforms will be undermined. Undermined by predatory lending, by punitive terms of trade, by a financial system that too often works against us rather than with us.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Earlier this year, I joined seven fellow African leaders—former Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Vice President, in launching the African Leaders’ Debt Relief Initiative in Cape Town. We chose to act because we can express what sitting Ministers and Heads of government often cannot. Too often silence prevails as leaders seek to endure pressures or remain absorbed by domestic challenges that debt relief could ironically help ease.  Indeed African nations are being asked to endure the unbearable.

I must commend President Cyril Ramaphosa who hosted us for an extensive dialogue and gave his full support to our advocacy.  He did not stop there. The very next day, addressing the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers, he publicly endorsed our initiative. His leadership matters, and so does the timing. In just over two months, the G20 will meet in Johannesburg—the first such gathering ever held on African soil—just ahead of the AU–EU Summit in Luanda. Progress on debt is still possible, and we know it is a priority for President Ramaphosa. As a former President and an advocate for debt relief for Africa, my time and experiences are at the disposal of any initiative that addresses the huge burden of debt carried by African Countries.

To our European partners, I say this: you hold significant influence within the G20. With Germany, France, Italy, and the European Union, you command four seats at that table. Africa, home to more than 1.5 billion people, has only two—South Africa and the African Union.

So I entreat you: hear the voice of your neighbouring continent. Stand with the AU and with the South African G20 Presidency to advance ambitious reform of the Common Framework and to establish a truly comprehensive global debt relief initiative in this Jubilee Year, 2025. Implement the solutions already on the table. I am talking about immediate debt service suspension, comprehensive restructuring, and new concessional financing. By doing so, you do not invest in charity—you invest in partnership. You invest in a prosperous Africa that contributes to global stability and shared growth.

The benefits of debt relief for Africa—and for the world—are enormous and life-changing. It strengthens economic stability. Today, too many African nations spend more on debt than on healthcare or education. By easing this burden, governments can invest in essential services and unlock new opportunities for trade and investment, creating gains that ripple across the global economy.

It also delivers profound humanitarian dividends. Freed resources can reduce poverty, expand education, and build resilient health systems. That does not only help Africa—it protects the world from future pandemics and humanitarian crises.

Debt relief enhances peace and security as well. Crushing debt often fuels unrest and instability. Lifting that weight supports stability and reduces risks that affect us all, from migration pressures to global security threats.

Debt relief also strengthens the fight against climate change. Tools such as debt-for-climate swaps enable African nations to invest in renewable energy, conservation, and adaptation—protecting a continent rich in resources yet deeply vulnerable to climate shocks.

And above all, debt relief is a matter of moral leadership. By pursuing it, the international community acknowledges historic inequities, builds trust, and renews global cooperation. In short: relieving Africa’s debt is not just good for Africa—it is good for the world. What helps Africa, helps us all

We stand at a crossroads. We can allow debt to weigh down nations, stifle opportunity, and fuel instability. Or we can choose a different path — one of partnership, growth, and shared responsibility. Debt relief is not an act of generosity. It is a strategic choice for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world. So let us act not tomorrow, not in the distant future, but now. Let us match words with courage, and commitments with action.

The sacrifices we make today, the compromises, the collaborations we engage in today can only inure to the benefit of our world.  Let us take a cue from the impacts of global warming. If it has taught us anything, it has taught us one thing- we are all impacted, no matter who is doing what, when, why, how and where. In the same vein, when Africa rises free from the weight of debt, the whole world rises with it.

In closing, let us envision an Africa unbound—a continent where debt no longer dictates destiny, where our youth innovate freely, and our resources fuel shared prosperity. As I said in my addresses before, Africa is eager, Africa is willing. With a global debt relief initiative, we can transform crisis into opportunity. Together, let us forge this path. Thank you, and God bless Africa.