date: 18.04.2022
| location: Online
The Global Parliamentary Forum is the flagship event of the Parliamentary Network and takes place once a year at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings (SMs). The event gathers parliamentarians from around the world to engage in dialogue with World Bank and IMF Senior Management to share knowledge about the most pressing development and economic issues.
The Forum aims to establish a platform for collective dialogue to look at public policies and best practices to face the current global challenges and promote global action. By providing up-to-date information to parliamentarians on the World Bank and IMF’s current activities and facilitating access for legislators to International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the Forum creates effective possibilities for dialogue and impact, particularly at the country and regional level. To achieve better development outcomes, this year’s Forum will put a special emphasis on climate change and green finance, debt, and youth.
The worldwide community is making efforts to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 and counteract the impact of the health pandemic on the global economy, employment, and human capital. The crisis underscored the strong links between human and planetary health; natural disasters, ecosystem loss and other climate shocks will not stop during the COVID-19 response and recovery phases. Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity is currently facing and today’s actions will determine how well countries will be able to handle future risks and shocks. Amid the climate challenge, countries are facing a dramatic increase in public debt, which poses a great challenge to their governments to bring about financial, economic, and social recovery. The pandemic has also posed risks to young generations through disruptions in access to essential services and lack of access to proper education. These challenges are disproportionately affecting youth and threatening the globe with an uneven recovery and growing inequalities between and within countries.
Nevertheless, there is a unique opportunity today to create economies that are more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. Through the legislative oversight of public finance, Parliamentarians have a critical role to play in restoring human capital, while ensuring a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery; as well as reaching the objectives of COP26 and the 2030 Agenda.
Click here to watch the recordings of all sessions
Wednesday 13 April
Pandemic Preparedness and Health Resilience
9:00 – 10:30 AM
This roundtable discussion will bring together members of the Panel for a Global Public Health Convention, the International Forum on Global Health, the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, UNITE Global Parliamentarians Network, and the Global Fund, to discuss the way forward to prevent pandemics, and parliamentarians’ role in this process.
Welcome and Moderation
The Rt Hon. Liam Byrne MP
UK; Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF
Speakers
Hon. Ricardo Leite
MP, MD, President & Founder, UNITE Global Parliamentarians Network, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF
Dame Barbara Stocking
Chair, Panel for a Global Public Health Convention (PGPHC)
Angel Gurria
Former Secretary General, OCDE, Member PGPHC (tbc)
Priya Basu
Head, COVID-19 Taskforce Secretariat, World Bank Group
Scott Boule
Senior Specialist Parliamentary Affairs, Global Fund
Q&A with parliamentarians
A detailed programme will be shared with participants registered for this event.
Thursday 14 April
Global Young MP Initiative: Innovations to Eliminate Learning Poverty
9:00 - 10:30 AM
The Global Young MP Initiative will convene parliamentarians aged 40 and under around the theme of “Innovations to Eliminate Learning Poverty.” The meeting, co-hosted by the International Parliamentary Network for Education, will explore pioneering approaches to modernize education systems to ensure that all children know how to read and understand a basic text by age 10.
A detailed programme will be shared with participants registered for this event.
Monday 18 April
Virtual Parliamentarian Townhall with World Bank and IMF Senior Leadership
9:00 - 10:00 AM
The Townhall will serve as an occasion for parliamentarians from around the globe to engage with their peers and IMF & World Bank senior management on the most pressing global development issues.
Welcome and Moderation
The Rt Hon. Liam Byrne MP, UK
Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF
Speakers
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, IMF
David Malpass
President, WBG
Q&A with parliamentarians
Tuesday 19 April
Session Debt Management: Transparency and creativity for equitable growth
9:00 - 10:30 AM
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, debt was already at record highs in emerging and developing economies. The pandemic is pushing a growing number of these countries into debt distress. The session on debt will be the occasion for legislators to discuss with World Bank and IMF high level experts how to manage debt in a transparent and accountable manner to better recover from the pandemic, while addressing medium and long-term development issues.
Welcome and Moderation
Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte QC, MP
Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Jamaica tbc
Speaker
Carmen Reinhart
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank Group
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR)
MP Speakers
Hon. Steve Azaiki MP
Nigeria
Senator Neila Tazi
Morocco
Hon. Alejandro Cacace MP
Argentina
Hon. Giulio Centemero MP
Italy, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
Q&A with parliamentarians
Wednesday 20 April
Session on Climate Finance and Smart Infrastructure for a Greener and More Inclusive Recovery
9:00 - 10:30 AM
The session on Climate Finance will look at how parliamentarians can work together with IFIs to draw the path towards achieving the 2030 Agenda in the context of COVID-19 recovery, notably through green finance and infrastructure, while prioritizing the COP26 commitments. This session will be used to present the PN Parliamentary Toolkit to its membership, aimed promoting knowledge sharing between MPs on relevant development topics.
Welcome and Moderation
The Rt Hon. Liam Byrne MP, UK
Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF
Speakers
Fabio Natalucci
Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
Demetrios Papathanasiou
Global Director, Energy and Extractives Global Practice, Infrastructure Practice Group, World Bank
Carlos Manuel Rodríguez
CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility
MP Speakers
Senator Pia Cayetano
Philippines (tbc)
Hon. Dandobi Hassana Boubacar MP
Niger
Senator Rosa Galvez
Canada
Sebastian Cerninc, Senator
Romania, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
Q&A with parliamentarians
