This year’s IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings are just around the corner (as is spring in DC we hope)! In a rapidly changing development landscape, this year’s events at the Center for Global Development will focus on innovative and proactive approaches to addressing tomorrow’s development challenges today.
We invite you to join us in conversation with finance ministers, top multilateral development bank and humanitarian agency officials, and global development thought leaders for discussions on topics ranging from migration to technology to education to development finance, and much more.
All of these events will also be streamed on CGD’s website, so even if you’re not in Washington, DC next week, we encourage you to register and tune in to the webcast! You can print out the full schedule here.
Wednesday, April 18
Lessons from East Asia and Pacific: Improved Learning Outcomes, Economic Growth, and Equitable Development
9:30–11:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, April 18
Join CGD and the World Bank for a presentation and discussion on how successful East Asia and Pacific economies have achieved the impressive learning outcomes that help drive their economic growth today.
Featuring: The World Bank’s Jaime Saavedra, Senior Director of the Education Global Practice; Harry Patrinos, Practice Manager, East Asia & the Pacific, Education Global Practice; CGD’s Nancy Birdsall; CGD Postdoctoral Fellow Agustina Paglayan; government representatives from East Asia; and more!
New Frontiers of Displacement and Fragility: How Can Flexible Financing Tackle 21st Century Challenges?
2:00–3:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 18
This event will explore the next frontiers in responding to forced displacement and fragility: emerging challenges, priorities, and solutions. This will include discussions of new mechanisms—such as the World Bank's concessional financing for countries hosting refugees and compacts that bring together development and humanitarian investments—that can reshape the international response to protracted refugee crises.
Featuring: Kristalina Georgieva, CEO, World Bank; Imad Fakhoury, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan; CGD’s Nancy Birdsall; David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; Ruth Kagia, Senior Advisor, Office of the President of Kenya; and Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief of Devex.
Thursday, April 19
A Path Forward on Fragile States
9:00–10:45 a.m. ET, Thursday, April 19
Panel 1: A Conversation with David Cameron & Donald Kaberuka to Launch ‘Escaping the Fragility Trap’
9:00–10:00 a.m. ET, Thursday, April 19
CGD and the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development will co-host a conversation with David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Donald Kaberuka, a distinguished visiting fellow at CGD and High Representative on the African Union Peace Fund, to discuss the need for a new global approach to state fragility. Cameron and Kaberuka chair the Fragility Commission, established in March 2017 to guide policy to combat state fragility, and will be launching the Commission’s report Escaping the Fragility Trap, which makes the case for urgent action and outlines recommendations for how domestic and international actors can do things differently.
Panel 2: Economic Policy Management in Fragile States
10:15–10:45 a.m. ET, Thursday, April 19
The next panel will delve deeper into the challenges of economic policy management in fragile and conflict affected states. Sir Paul Collier will discuss the key takeaways from the Commission’s report. Charles Collyns will present the findings and recommendations of the recent IEO evaluation of the IMF's work on fragile states, and Amat Al Alim Alsoswa will discuss her experience tackling these challenges in Yemen and beyond.
Featuring: Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron; High Representative on the African Union Peace Fund Donald Kaberuka; Sir Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government; Charles Collyns, Director of the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office; and Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, former Minister in Yemen and former UN Assistant Secretary General.
What Will Automation and Artificial Intelligence Mean for Comparative Advantage and Supply Chains in the Developing World?
2:30–4:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 19
Technological advances in fields such as artificial intelligence and automation have the potential to fundamentally alter prevailing economic trends. While the effects of these changes are the subject of great debate in the developed world, less discussed has been how they will impact the developing world.
This panel discussion, co-hosted by CGD and Pathways for Prosperity, will explore what emerging technologies mean for both the traditional models of development and the future of job creation in developing countries.
Featuring: Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Government of the Netherlands; Benno Ndulu, Academic Director, Pathways for Prosperity; and Kamal Bhattacharya, Chief Innovation Officer at Safaricom, Commissioner, Pathways for Prosperity.
A Conversation with Ministers of Finance from Latin America: The Future of Latin American Fiscal Policy and Growth
5:00–6:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 19
In recent years, most Latin American countries are reporting fiscal deficits and many have increased their external debt ratios. This trend has raised questions about whether the region’s resilience to external shocks has deteriorated, and about Latin America’s ability to reignite growth and support development efforts.
On Thursday evening, Ministers of Finance from the region will discuss their challenges and solutions, including: Is there enough fiscal space to react to external shocks, including a higher than expected increase in US interest rates? And given the low rates of growth in Latin America, what role will governments’ spending and tax policies play in revitalizing the regions’ economies?
This event will be co-hosted by Liliana Rojas-Suarez, Director, Latin America Initiative at CGD, and Máximo Torero, Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay at the World Bank Group.
Featuring: Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia; Luis Andres Caputo, Minister of Finance of Argentina; Lea Giménez Duarte, Minister of Finance, Paraguay; José Antonio González Anaya, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of México; Felipe Larraín Bascuñán, Minister of Finance of Chile; and David Tuesta, Minister of Economy and Finance of Perú.
Friday, April 20
Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Joins Us to Discuss the Story Behind the Headlines
9:00–10:30 a.m. ET, Friday, April 20
Join CGD and Brookings for the launch of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s new book, Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines.
Corruption can siphon desperately needed resources away from development, but as some anti-corruption advocates have found, taking on vested interests can come at a great personal risk to their livelihoods—or even their lives. In her book, Okonjo-Iweala draws on her years as Nigeria’s Finance Minister to provide practical lessons on the difficult, sometimes-dangerous, always-necessary work of fighting graft and corruption.
Copies will be available for purchase, and Okonjo-Iweala will sign books after the event.
Featuring: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development and Former Finance Minister of Nigeria; CGD President Masood Ahmed; and Homi Kharas, Interim Vice President and Director of the Global Economy and Development program, Brookings Institution.
The Future of Development Finance Institutions
12:30–2:00 p.m. ET, Friday, April 20
In an evolving global landscape, development finance—rather than aid—is poised to be the future of global development. And the spotlight is increasingly on development finance institutions (DFIs) to be catalysts in mobilizing needed financing.
On Friday, join CGD, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) for a discussion on the future of DFIs, which will tackle questions such as: What role is there for DFIs to support policy development, regulatory frameworks, and long-term planning? How can DFIs effectively balance development impact and investment sustainability and profitability?
Featuring: Remy Rioux, CEO, Agence Française de Développement; Paul Lamontagne, Managing Director, FinDev Canada; and Elizabeth Littlefield, Former CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
What Is the Role for the UNDP in Development?
3:30–5:00 p.m. ET, Friday, April 20
The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) bold four-year Strategic Plan sets out to deliver solutions to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and build resilience to crises in order to help countries achieve the 2030 Agenda. But as the UN system grapples with funding challenges, as private finance is further mobilized for development, and as technological advances shape the development landscape, what is UNDP’s comparative advantage?
Featuring: UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, and Nikolai Astrup, Minister of International Development, Norway.
Disclaimer
CGD blog posts reflect the views of the authors, drawing on prior research and experience in their areas of expertise. CGD is a nonpartisan, independent organization and does not take institutional positions.