In the face of many challenges facing the international economy, the annual spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, which will continue until the sixteenth of this month, kick off today in Washington, DC.
For a week, bankers, finance ministers, economists, academics, development executives, and civil society representatives will discuss current issues affecting the global economy – whether financial, geopolitical, or climate-related.
These meetings are taking place at a time when the global outlook is still not rosy. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said last weekend that about 90 percent of advanced economies, including those of the United States and the eurozone, are expected to see their growth rate slow this year as interest rates rise.
But Georgieva said there was a reason for optimism in Asia. She pointed to the emergence of “green blooms” in China, which together with India are expected to account for half of the global growth in 2023.
World Bank Group President David Malpass and Georgieva will begin the meetings with a discussion on the complex challenges facing the global economy at an event titled “The Way Forward: Building Resilience and Reshaping Development.”
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Today’s event will highlight the uncertainties and risks that are severely impacting the global economy three years after the pandemic began, as well as factors related to chronic inflation, the crisis of the rising cost of living, slowing growth, record-high indebtedness in developing countries, and the life-threatening effects of climate change.
On Tuesday, an event titled “Overcoming Debt and Achieving Growth” will bring together academic experts and policymakers from developing economies, as well as representatives from the private sector, to discuss potential solutions and learn what can be done to avoid debt crises and achieve growth at a time when public debt is at its highest level in 50 years.
On 12 April, there will be an event titled ‘Governing Effectively During Difficult Times’ which will highlight what governments can do to meet the most critical needs to protect individuals under the current circumstances, and how the international community can support governments in meeting the basic needs of the most vulnerable.
The meetings on April 13 will include an event entitled “Accelerating Development in the Era of Global Crisis”, and another event entitled “Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders” that will feature a line-up of high-level speakers to discuss how to enhance the economic viability of women’s inclusion and achieve equality and will discuss the role of the public and private sectors in creating an enabling environment that helps improve opportunities for women’s empowerment and full economic participation.
On April 14, three events will be held under the title “The Power of Private Capital for Sustainable Development”, “Catalyzing Sustainable and Inclusive Supply Chains” and “Investing in Human Capital to Accelerate the Green Transition”.
On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, summits of the Joint Development Committee and the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee will be held to discuss progress on the work of the Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, as well as to implement seminars, sessions, and events focusing on the global economy, international development, and global financial markets.
The Spring Meetings 2023 will bring together government officials from IMF and World Bank Group member countries, observers and representatives of international, regional, and economic organizations, central bank governors and representatives of civil society organizations, and will also witness the convening of a Civil Society Policy Forum for dialogue on the policies of civil society organizations.
Senior officials from the private sector, financial institutions, banks, members of parliaments, Shura and Senate councils, and academics will also participate in the meetings.
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