Bangladesh urges G-20 to force companies making profit from Ukraine war to compensate poor nations

On March 2nd, Bangladesh’s foreign minister said companies making “runaway profit” from the war in Ukraine should compensate affected, less developed nations. Bangladesh has been harshly affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war as they get most of their energy sources from these areas. The Ukrainian war has already had economic analysts concerned about the effects it could have on the global economy. Last year, a United Nations report highlighted the fallout from Ukraine’s war could dramatically worsen the economic outlook for developing countries already grappling with debt financing related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries like Bangladesh could use those profits that companies are making to fuel and boost their own economic systems. Energy and Defense companies are the two biggest industries gaining this runaway profit from the war, which are the industries that countries like Bangladesh are short on due to the war. As the war has continued on, not only has it been harder for these less developed countries to get resources, but when they do the price is astronomically higher, making it harder for these countries to obtain these resources for their citizens, further worsening the economic situation. “For many developing countries already at high risk of debt distress, the spillover effects of the war may further worsen debt vulnerabilities due to the increasing balance-of-payments and fiscal pressures,” the UN said. This war has been discussed in class frequently and the various economic damage it is doing to countries outside of Ukraine and Russia, it is important to note how now these companies have the power to aid countries like Bangladesh but are choosing not to so they can keep their profits from the war. Bangladesh has already received a $4.7 billion financial aid package from the International Monetary Fund in January to help cushion these effects and cushion the looming financial crisis to come to less developed countries.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/02/bangladesh-foreign-minister-ukraine-war-fallout.html