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  • Development Committee

    Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund

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Forced Displacement and Development

By Kevin McCall, Office of the Vice President and Corporate Secretary

The World Bank
April 16, 2016 - The Development Committee met at the 2016 World Bank – International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings under the Chairmanship of Mr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Finance, Indonesia. Meeting participants, including the Board of Governors and their representatives, to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and World Bank Group (WBG) President Jim Yong Kim, noted the substantial downside risks in today’s global economy. Risk factors, including weak demand, tighter financial markets, softening trade, persistently low oil and commodity prices, and volatile capital flows all pose risks to economies at all stages of development, and meeting participants called for World Bank and IMF policy advice and financial support to help achieve sustained, inclusive and diversified growth and resilience.

Participants noted the manifold challenges negatively impacting poverty eradication efforts, particularly fragility and conflict that result in forced displacement that affects both origin and host countries. In the Communiqué endorsed at the meeting, Governors recognized the sacrifices and generosity of host countries and acknowledged the lack of adequate instruments to support them. They welcomed partnership efforts between the Islamic Development Bank, the UN, and the WBG to help address host country financing needs and asked the WBG to explore options to develop a long-term global crisis response platform. 

In meeting many of today’s development challenges, especially those facing the world’s lowest income countries, Governors highlighted the criticality of IDA – the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. They advocated for a strong replenishment effort with the support of traditional and new donors to ensure continued focus on the poorest countries.

The multilateral accomplishments of 2015, including the Financing for Development Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Climate Agreement, set an ambitious work program until 2030. To deliver on this agenda, Governors noted that strong partnership is key and that the IMF, MDBs, the UN, and the WBG, should partner, in line with their comparative advantage, to support countries’ efforts. Governors encouraged enhanced engagements on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, with a particular role for both the WBG and the IMF to boost domestic resource mobilization, including by tackling illicit financial flows. 

Additionally, Governors encouraged the WBG to continue delivering evidence-based development solutions at the country, regional and global levels, including through South-South cooperation and other methods. In this regard, they urged the WBG and IMF to become more effective in situations of conflict and fragility through strengthened operational capacity, capacity development, incentives, and innovative financing and resources.

With regard to the ongoing challenges posed by climate change and disaster risk, Governors noted a key role for the WBG. They applauded the historic Paris Agreement, urging the WBG and IMF to continue to step up their support to build resilience in small states, while also calling on the WBG to implement actions and policies to build capacity for disaster response in country engagement. In terms of emerging challenges, Governors stressed the need to strengthen country institutions and health systems including the enhancement of pandemic prevention and preparedness, and urged the WBG to foster a new market for pandemic risk management insurance through the Pandemic Emergency Facility.

In closing the meeting, Governors endorsed the ongoing and forthcoming work program of the Board of Directors and World Bank Group Senior Management.