Leonel Fernández Calls for Restructuring of Global Economic Institutions to Improve Equity

The proposal came during Fernández’s participation in a panel at the second meeting of the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, an event organized by the Emirates Policy Center (EPC).

Head of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (Funglode), Dr. Leonel Fernández called for the restructuring of the global economic order to ensure more equitable representation for all
countries.

Also the former president of the Dominican Republic, Fernández made the proposal while participating in a panel at the meeting of the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, organized by Emirates Policy Center (EPC).

During the forum, held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, topics such as the role of the Gulf in the global economy, intra-regional relations among the Gulf States, links with Turkey and Iran, and
the current state of the Israel-Palestine conflict were also addressed.

Likewise, the forum hosted talks on the region’s future economic prospects, the issue of terrorism and extremism at the international level, and the relationship between power, the state, and the cybersphere.

Fernández participated in the second day of
the event in a panel on the need for global economic restructuring.

During the panel, Dr. Fernández discussed the state of Latin American economies following China’s economic slowdown. He confirmed that the region of Latin America has gone from growing 4.5% in recent years to practically no growth at all, which he attributed fundamentally to the situation in China.

Fernández noted that in Latin America only the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and
Panamá are set to see growth, accounted for by the fact that these three economies are more integrated than the others in the region with that of the United States, which is undergoing sustained growth.

Fernández was also asked why the United States continues to dominate the rules of the game and the underlying structures of the global economy. He responded that this is due to the continued dominance of the Bretton Wood regime, established at the end of World War II to
elaborate the rules for financial and trade relations among the world’s main industrial states. The system is dominated by the United States.

During his panel appearance, Dr. Fernández repeatedly affirmed that the United Nations as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund need to be restructured to represent all countries in a more equitable way.

After his participation in the event, Fernández was invited to attend all
further occasions of the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, an important forum boasting the participation of experts from around the world.