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Upcoming event

2023 Global Parliamentary Forum

date: 11.04.2023
The Global Parliamentary Forum (GPF) organized together with the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is the Parliamentary Network’s flagship event. The event is hosted by the World Bank Group and IMF in Washington DC, USA. Keynote speakers include the Managing Director of the IMF and the President of the World Bank Group. This year, we meet against the backdrop of deepening crises in food, fragility and finance, and the first rise in extreme poverty this century, and Russia invasion of Ukraine. Founded in 2000, the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF is an independent, non-governmental organization that provides a platform for Parliamentarians from WBG and IMF member countries to advocate for increased accountability and transparency in development cooperation. It provides a platform for MPs to share knowledge, to hold their own governments, as well as International Financial Institutions, to account for development outcomes. 

Globally, prices continue to rise and growth rates remain too low. Two-hundred million people now wake up without enough to eat and we are off track to meet targets to end hunger by 2030. In some nations, scarcity is fostering violence as half the world’s extreme poor will live in conflict-zones over the decade to come and poorer nations’ capacity to respond is constrained by the highest total gross debt in fifty-years with rising costs of debt service. This is crippling the capacity of many countries to put investment where it is needed to prepare the future: into clinics, classrooms and climate adaptation.

As many as 300 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Investment in health and education is mission critical if countries are to reap the potential of the “demographic dividend,” yet 40% of low-income developing countries- and middle income nations have been forced to cut spending on the education needed to unlock that potential. The costs of climate adaption add to the bill, with new estimates indicating that, on average, countries need to invest 1.4% of GDP in in climate adaption, but 8% of GDP in low-income countries. Despite the crises, the world is failing to mobilise the scale of development and climate finance needed. Hence, a new debate is gathering pace for fundamental change of the global financial architecture.

Bringing together some 200 parliamentarians from approximately 100 countries, leaders from civil society and partner organizations, along with top officials from international financial institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and other regional development banks, the GPF is a unique opportunity to debate and discuss this new world of tougher challenges and tougher trade-offs to deliver economic stability, the Sustainable Development Goals, and action to tackle climate change, end extreme poverty and foster inclusive growth.

Agenda of the Event, Washington DC Time

Monday 10 April

Opportunities and Challenges on the Road to a Greener Recovery 1:30 - 2:45 PM

Future growth must be greener growth - but the transition to a new economy must be just and the global community needs to transform the scale of finance available to make the leap. Shareholders, clients, and partners want Multilateral Financial Institutions to do more for global public goods, notably climate change, which is one of the defining challenges of our time. Roughly US$2.5 trillion of additional financing is needed every year until 2030 to both reach the Paris climate goals and achieve the SDG’s. Both the World Bank and IMF have responded. Last year saw the World Bank Group surge a record $31.7 billion in financing to help countries address climate change and it is currently in a consultative process to an Evolutionary Roadmap to better address the scale of development challenges, including climate change, while the IMF signed its first country deals for the new Resilience and Sustainability Trust. Now, as we look ahead to COP28, a critical milestone for mobilising new green finance, what do we know about the opportunities and challenges on the route to net zero, and what are the options for reform, locally, regionally and globally?

Juergen Voegele Vice President, Sustainable Development, World Bank
TBC

Monday 10 April

Financing Preparedness 3:00 - 4:15 PM

As the world is still coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that to reinforce the global framework for preparedness, there is a need to increase funding to ensure a more efficient global health architecture and avoid food shortages in the future. The proposal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to defeat the pandemic establishes a plan with clear targets, pragmatic actions, and at a feasible cost. It builds on and supports the ongoing work of WHO, its partners in the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative, as well as the work of the World Bank Group, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many others. This mechanism was an example of partnership of different organizations towards the promotion of a stronger global health architecture. Parliamentarians play an important role in holding their governments accountable and pushing for the application of important resolutions at a global level. This session will convene a panel discussion to understand the parliamentary perspective on the way forward to ensure effective commitments from Member States to global funding mechanisms with a special focus on preparedness.

• Axel Van Trotsenburg Senior Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group
• Juan Pablo Uribe Global Director for Health, Nutrition & Population and the Global Financing Facility, World Bank

Monday 10 April

Bridging the Human Capital Gap for the Next Generation: The Education, Jobs and Skills Crises 4:15 - 5:30 PM

World leaders promised to deliver quality education for all by 2030 and we know that investment in education and training is mission critical if the Global South is to reap the potential of its "demographic dividend". Most poorer countries have growing working age populations, with people under age 25 projected to make up 90% of the prime-age workforce in 2050. However, 40% of low- and lower-middle income nations were forced to slash spending on the education needed to unlock that potential in young people. As many as 78 million are now out of school all together – and 73 million young people are out of work: six million more than before the pandemic. In fact, learning interruptions owing to school closures risk today’s generation of students losing the equivalent of 14% of today’s global GDP in lifetime earnings, if left unaddressed. Globally, this generation of students risks losing $21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings, which could mean lower productivity, greater inequality, and risks of social unrest for decades to come. So, how do leaders make the trade-offs needed to invest in the next generation, on whom will we soon rely?

Mamta Murthi Vice President, Human Development, World Bank Group
• Nobert Schady Chief Economist HD

Tuesday 11 April

Transforming Governance & Accountability: Ukraine and beyond 9:00 - 10:30 AM

As global challenges multiply and trade-offs get tougher, it becomes ever more essential for governments, politicians, public civil servants, and parliamentarians to enhance good governance. Effective institutions are needed to ensure transparency and accountability, economic stability, public safety measures, and delivery of public goods and services, achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Without transparency and accountability, countries risk facing growing inequalities, increased poverty, and lack of public trust. Furthermore, they are essential in reinforcing fiscal sustainability, accelerating digital governance, improving service delivery, resource mobilization and debt management These ideals have long been championed by both the World Bank Group and the IMF through its Framework for Enhanced Engagement on Governance. Few countries are navigating these challenges as dramatically as Ukraine, which facing an illegal invasion by Russia, must now rebuild an economy for EU membership. To this end, a reconstruction of the country must include robust transparency and accountability measures. Ukraine provides a powerful lens through which to consider lessons for politicians and policy makers everywhere who are wrestling with the task of building good governance and rebuilding economies for new times. Organised jointly with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington, DC, this session will also look at lessons learned from other countries that have undergone post-conflict reforms and have succeeded in building robust and accountable institutions.

• Anna Bjerde Managing Director of Operations, World Bank
• Arturo Herrera Gutierrez Global Director for Governance Global Practice in the Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) Vice Presidency, World Bank Group

Tuesday 11 April

Empowering Women for Powerful Societies 10:45 - 12:00 PM

An economy is stronger when all citizens can contribute equally – closing the gender employment gap alone would raise GDP per capital by nearly 20% on average. Gender equality can also accelerate progress towards other development goals, including addressing food insecurity, climate change, and conflict and fragility. Yet gender gaps in labour force participation average 30% worldwide and have remained stagnant over the last three decades, and, at the current pace, it will take another 50 years to close the legal gender gap. The IMF gender strategy aims at mainstreaming gender with the recognition that reducing gender disparities goes hand-in-hand with higher economic growth, greater economic stability and resilience, and lower income inequality, while recognising that macroeconomic, structural, and financial policies can support efficient and inclusive outcomes and equitably benefit women, girls, and the society in general. The World Bank Group launched a year-long #AccelerateEquality initiative in 2022, exploring the progress made and lessons learned throughout the last decade in closing gender gaps and promoting girls’ and women's empowerment. The lessons learned from this year-long initiative will inform the update to the World Bank Group Gender Strategy, to be introduced in 2024. Additionally, after nine years of the Women, Business and the Law report, stakeholders are proposing ways in which the recommendations can be turned into legislative action leading to gender-specific impacts.

• Hana Brixi Global Director for Gender, World Bank Group
• Tea Trumbic Manager, Women, Business and the Law, World Bank Group

Tuesday 11 April

World Economic Update – Where do we stand? 2:00 - 3:15 PM

Countries are still dealing with Covid, climate change continue to reverberate, poverty is rising, low-income developing countries are faced with highest debts in decades, inflation is ongoing, and Russia’s war continue to devastate Ukraine’s economy. What is the latest on global outlook? How will the economic outlook for 2023 shape a world of tougher challenges and tougher trade-offs?

• Indermit Gill Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank Group

Tuesday 11 April

Mobility, Remittances and Digital Money: Opportunities and Risks 3:15 - 4:15 PM

Cross-border mobility inevitably comes with economic and social consequences for those who move, their communities of origin, and their destinations. Today, 295 million people live outside their country of birth, and a large majority are people from developing countries as economic migrants and refugees. Amidst the shockwaves of today, more and more people are moving to build new lives - but support those they left at home. Some 295 million people now live outside their country of birth as economic migrants and refugees - and the explosion of digital money and cryptocurrency now creates unprecedented efficiencies in sharing money with loved ones who may live thousands of miles away. Around the world, migration remains a hot political topic, and politicians and regulators alike, remain anxious about the new risks of cryptocurrency. This session gives parliamentarians the change to hear first-hand about the new World Development Report 2023 on Migrants, Refugees and Societies, which explores migration from a more human and holistic perspective, including drivers of mobility and the role of development; impacts and policy responses, along with briefing from IMF experts on the trends, opportunities, and challenges with the wave of new digital currencies.

• Xavier Devictor Co-Director for the World Development Report 2023, World Bank

Tuesday 11 April

Economic Outlook for Africa 4:15 - 5:15 PM
• Andrew Dabalen Africa Region Chief Economist, World Bank Group
• Abebe Selassie Director of the African Department, IMF

Tuesday 11 April

Safeguarding the World’s Future: The Environmental and Social Framework 3:30 - 5:30 PM

By invitation only for MPs 40 and under. The fourth annual Global Young MP Initiative meeting will focus on the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), which supports green, resilient and inclusive development through a rigorous set of standards that strengthen protections for people and the environment, making important advances in areas such as labour, inclusion and non-discrimination, gender, climate change, biodiversity, transparency, accountability, community health and safety, and stakeholder engagement. Legislators 40 and under are important stakeholders to engage on the ESF as their generations will see the long-term consequences of decisions made today. Participating MPs will be encouraged to bring examples of ideas and best practices in environmental and social policies to the meeting for an interactive and productive session. The Global Young MP Initiative convenes legislators aged 40 and under from around the world to learn about the most pressing development challenges and to share strategies for overcoming them. Young parliamentarians are uniquely positioned to lend a youth perspective and voice to the many intractable issues impacting their generation, invigorating policy discussions, and implementing pioneering solutions. Through conversations with World Bank management, practical exercises with their global peers, and access to a diverse array of development knowledge, the initiative represents a unique opportunity for networking, collaboration, and progress.

• Sheila Redzepi Vice President of External and Corporate Relations, World Bank
• Maninder Gill Director of Environmental and Social Standards, World Bank
• Rolande Pryce Country Manager, Rwanda
• Carine Clert Country Manager, Costa Rica
• Yannick Shetty MP Member of the Environment and Climate Change, Austria
• Rebecca Yei Kamara MP Chair of the Climate Parliament, Sierra Leone
• Alejandro Cacace MP Vice-Chair of the Social Security and Budget Committee, Argentina
• Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri MP Member of the Committee on Energy, Industry, Research and Innovation
• Jeta Statovci Vice Chair of the Economy Committee and Budget Committee
• Gideon Keter MP Kenya

Contacts

Gergana Ivanova, Parliamentary Network: givanova@parlnet.org
Kofi Kafu Tsikata, World Bank Group: ktsikata@worldbankgroup.org
Tilla McAntony, IMF: tmcantony@imf.org

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