Mottley pushes for long-term financing as global crises squeeze small states
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has called for a fundamental shift in how vulnerable countries are financed, urging the international community to move toward 40- and 50-year loans for critical sectors such as education, water and health.
Speaking during a high-level discussion at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, Mottley argued that short-term financing models are limiting the ability of small states to invest in long-term stability.
“Let us move to 40 and 50 year loans for education, water, and health loans,” she said, adding that while countries may still proceed with shorter-term financing, it often comes at a cost.
“We have to refurbish a hospital that is over 60 years old, but if all that is available is 10 and 12 year money, we will do it. But what it does is crowd out other space for us to do other critical things that are necessary for our stability.”
The discussion, held during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings week, examined how conflict, rising debt, energy shocks and global instability are tightening fiscal space for vulnerable countries and testing the effectiveness of the international financial system.
Within that context, Mottley positioned Barbados as an active voice advocating for reform, particularly in how vulnerability is measured and financed.
She argued that traditional metrics such as GDP per capita and debt-to-GDP ratios do not adequately reflect the realities faced by small, exposed economies, and called for vulnerability to be treated as a central consideration in development financing.
Her remarks also underscored the real-world impact of global crises on everyday life in small states.
“This is the third global crisis in six years… you can’t turn one way or the other without being literally hit in your face,” Mottley said, pointing to the ripple effects of conflict, supply chain disruptions and rising costs.
‘While noting Barbados’ economic progress, including 19 consecutive quarters of growth, the Prime Minister stressed that sustaining that trajectory is becoming increasingly difficult under current global conditions.
“We’ve had 19 straight quarters of economic growth, but it hasn’t been easy,” she said.
Mottley also expressed concern about what she described as a slow international response to the current crisis, contrasting it with the rapid mobilisation of financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There has been no similar action… and I suspect it has more to do with the geopolitics,” she said.
She warned that without urgent intervention, the consequences could extend beyond economic strain, affecting global stability.
“Unless we want to live in a world where security becomes the dominant issue in every region, then we need to wake up and smell the coffee and to put arrangements in place for countries to survive.”
The Prime Minister further stressed that investments in education, water and health must be treated as essential, long-term priorities rather than optional expenditures, arguing that these sectors underpin stability, opportunity and resilience.
Mottley maintained that meaningful reform is achievable but will require coordinated global leadership and political will.
“It’s going to require discipline. It’s going to require communication, but it is not impossible… but it does require leadership.”
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