Feb

3

2022

8:30—10:00 AM ET (US & CANADA)

CGD TALKS

Exploiting The Full Power of Special Drawing Rights

Livestreams for both sessions are available below.

The African Development Bank presentation is available here.

ABOUT THE EVENT

The recent allocation of $650 billion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) by the IMF to the world’s economies is a major achievement of international action to bridge the financing gap of many countries in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. To complement it, the Summit on the Financing of African Economies, held in Paris on May 18, 2021, highlighted the possibility to magnify this allocation through SDRs channelling for the benefit of countries most in need. In October 2021, the G20 committed to channelling $100 billion of SDRs to the benefit of low-income countries, including in the African continent, small island developing states, and vulnerable middle-income countries. Much of this effort will be done through the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and a new Resiliency and Sustainability Trust (RST) while other options are also being discussed to complement these two channels.

How have vulnerable countries used their SDRs thus far and what potential do they see for increased use of IMF lending? How can we optimize the effect of SDRs channelling (among countries and among objectives)? What can the RST bring to countries in financial constraints? Are there other mechanisms that could be used to channel SDRs to the benefit of countries struggling with the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and facing the fiscally daunting challenges of climate change? How vulnerabilities can be taken into account for mobilizing these SDRs?

In the first segment, the discussion, introduced by the moderator, will focus on how the SDR allocation could be used to deal with vulnerabilities. The IMF will present its view of the concrete results achieved by the SDR allocation, the PRGT financing and expected outcomes of the future RST. Ministers and central bankers of vulnerable countries will discuss what they have done or plan to do with their SDR allocations and the challenges in implementing those plans. A moderated discussion will follow, with some questions from the audience.

In the second segment, panelists will broach novel ideas for channelling SDRs beyond IMF lending, perhaps using the innovations in the RST as a model. This will be followed by a moderated discussion focused on how these solutions could help exploit the full power of SDRs.

FIRST SESSION: Exploiting The Full Power of Special Drawing Rights (Wednesday, February 2nd, 8:30-10:00am EST/ 1:30-3:00pm GMT/2:30-4:00 pm CET)
*This panel will be simultaneously broadcast in English and French.

OPENING REMARKS

Emmanuel Moulin, Director General of the French Treasury

MODERATOR

Patrick Guillaumont, President, Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International (FERDI)

PARTICIPANTS

Ernest Addison, Governor, Central Bank of Ghana
Amadou Hott, Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Senegal
Wilfrid Ossie, Director of the Cabinet, Ministry of Finance, Republic of Congo
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF
Alessandro Rivera, Director General, Italian Treasury
Nadia Daar, Head of Washington DC Office, Oxfam International

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development

SECOND SESSION: Exploiting The Full Power of Special Drawing Rights (Thursday, February 3rd, 8:30-10:00am EST/ 1:30-3:00pm GMT/2:30-4:00 pm CET)
*This panel be will simultaneously broadcast in English and French.

OPENING REMARKS

Mark Plant, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development

MODERATOR

Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development

PARTICIPANTS

Bajabulile Tshabalala, Senior Vice-President, African Development Bank
Hassatou Diop N’sele, Acting Vice-President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer, African Development Bank
Dody Budy Waluyo, Director Governor, Bank Indonesia
Avinash Persaud, Economist, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados on Investment and Financial Services
William Roos, Assistant Secretary Multilateral, Development and Trade affairs chez Direction générale du Trésor (French Treasury)
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Center for Economic Studies and Planning