By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Commonwealth ministers are expected to meet the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to discuss issues bordering on debt and financing challenges of small states.

This is contained in a Statement from Julius Mucunguzi Acting Communications Adviser Communications and Public Affairs Commonwealth Secretariat and made available to InvestAdvocate.

According to the Statement, the group will be led by Denzil Douglas, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and will be joined by Peter Philips, the Minister of Finance of Jamaica, Pierre Laporte, Minister of Finance of Seychelles, Lisiate ‘Aloveita ‘Akolo, Minister of Finance of Tonga and Faumuina Luiga, the Minister of Finance of Samoa.

According to Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, the group’s objective is to raise awareness of the unique challenges faced by small states in accessing affordable finance, and managing and reducing their debt. “They will also propose practical ways to address their concerns,” Sharma said.

“Small States face many challenges when it comes to managing and servicing debt, and there are particular obstacles that prevent them from accessing concessionary finance,” he said.

Sharma affirmed that poor nations tend to be vulnerable to crises and natural disasters and the Commonwealth is acutely conscious of the need for practical action to address these issues, particularly by the international financial community.

“We seek renewed resolve and innovative approaches to build the economic resilience of small and vulnerable states, with attention paid to global inclusion and development,” he said.

He further affirmed that international financial institutions need to review the criteria used to determine the wellbeing of small states.

“The current yard sticks do not take into account the unique vulnerabilities of small states such as remoteness, exposure to shocks, small population size and limited options for economic diversification. All of these factors result in disproportionately large challenges for these countries in accessing financial resources,” Sharma said.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General said studies have shown that many small and vulnerable states are unable to meet their debt obligations, even to international lenders.

He noted that the situation is particularly acute in the Caribbean, where several public debt ratios are in excess of 90 percent (90%) of gross national income (GNI).

“As a result such countries are finding it difficult to meet obligations such as reducing poverty and providing basic and necessary public goods,” Sharma affirmed.

Following the meetings in Washington, the Commonwealth ministers are expected to produce a report that will be submitted to its Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2013.