WASHINGTON (AFP) – The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will tackle the thorny issue of institutional reform at their upcoming annual meetings in Morocco next week.
The two international financial institutions are looking to scale up and retool to pursue ambitious global climate goals, while continuing to support emerging market and developing economies struggling to service rising debt levels.
This year’s gathering of world leaders will take place in Marrakesh, just weeks after a devastating earthquake in the region left close to 3,000 people dead.
It is the first such meeting to be held on the African continent for half a century, something underscored by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during a speech on Thursday in the city of Abidjan in Ivory Coast.
During her speech, Georgieva noted that the world was heading into the annual meetings in much better economic shape than many analysts had predicted.
“The world economy has shown remarkable resilience,” she said in prepared remarks, pointing to strong demand for services and tangible progress against high inflation.
“This increases the chances for a soft landing for the global economy,” she added, referring to the prospect of lowering inflation through interest rate hikes while avoiding a damaging recession.
Georgieva also called on member countries to “bolster” funding levels through an increase in the quotas they pay.
The United States (US), which has a blocking minority at the fund, has indicated it would back an across-the-board increase in quotas – a move which would leave the overall voting power of member countries unchanged.
The IMF is also looking to replenish popular concessionary lending facilities for low- and middle-income countries which have been exhausted by the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, Georgieva said.
She added that the IMF will consider changes to its management structure to elevate the voices of developing economies.
“I am looking forward to our members agreeing to a third African Chair at our Executive Board,” she said, backing plans to expand the IMF’s 24-person management board to add an additional seat for African countries.
This year’s annual meetings will be the first for new World Bank President Ajay Banga, a former Mastercard chief executive who was elected on a pledge to boost private sector financing for the transition to renewable energy.
Since taking office, Banga has indicated that he plans to reform the bank’s current twin mandate of poverty alleviation and boosting shared prosperity to include climate change.
