POSTPONED: Perspectives of the Global South on MDB Reform: A High-Level Conference

Due to the recent and tragic earthquake in Morocco's High Atlas region, this conference been postponed. Our deepest sympathies are with all those affected and we'll share new information on this page about a rescheduled event soon.

From the pandemics to climate change, financial distress to growing public debt burdens, the world is entering an era of multiple crises to which the countries of the Global South are most exposed.

The multilateral development banks (MDBs) are some of the most promising instruments to mobilize the financing needed to tackle these challenges, and major reform discussions are underway to make them fit for purpose moving forward. But so far, much of this dialogue have been dominated by voices from higher-income countries. The perspectives of countries who borrow from the MDBs must be at the heart of these debates.

In the wake of the G20 Leaders’ Summit and ahead of the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, the Center for Global Development and the Policy Center for the New South invite you to tune into a virtual two-day series of talks and seminars on what experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders from the Global South want out of MDB reform efforts.

Discussions at the conference will cover broad principles in MDB reform as well as more specific issues. Key topics will include:

How to ensure adequate concessional financing for low-income countries
How to strike the right balance between national and global priorities
How can MDBs be climate and development banks
How to more effectively mobilize private sector resources
How can MDBs play a role in the global debt architecture
And much more!

*All times listed are for local Rabat time.

Livestream - Sept. 11, Morning

Livestream - Sept. 11, Afternoon

Opening fireside chat

September 11, 9:30-10:00am

Welcome and discussion on the state of play with the MDB reform agenda with conference hosts and IMF and World Bank leaders.

Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South
Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director for Operations

Perspectives of Global South Leaders

September 11, 10:00-11:15am

Leaders from the Global South, including former finance ministers, will share their views on the MDB reform process and which reforms are needed to support the needs of countries in the Global South.

Speakers:

Zainab Ahmed, Alternate Executive Director, World Bank and former Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Amadou Hott, Special Envoy for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa, AfDB and former Minister of Economy, Planning, and Cooperation of Senegal
Mauricio Cardenas, Professor of Professional Practice in Global Leadership at Columbia University's School of International and former Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia
Wempi Saputra, Executive Director of Southeast Asia, World Bank Group and former Assistant Minister for Macro Economy and International Finance of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Indonesia
Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South (moderator)

Perspectives of MDB Representatives

September 11, 11:45am-1:00pm

Representatives from MDBs will share their perspectives on how reform is progressing, how the needs of the Global South are being considered, and what further changes are needed.

Speakers:

Bajabulile Tshabalala, Senior Vice President, African Development Bank Group
Ed Mountfield, Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services (OPCS), World Bank
Suma Chakrabarti, Chair of the Board of Trustees of ODI and former President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Amanda Glassman, Executive Advisor to the President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF
Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development (moderator)

Private Capital Mobilization: What's Worked, What Hasn't?

September 11, 5:30-6:45pm

No institutions have broader toolkits for mobilizing private finance for sustainable development than MDBs. Yet major shareholders, client countries, private investors, and other stakeholders consistently call for better mobilization performance. This discussion will cover how MDB financial products need to change, how investment opportunities can be created at scale, and how the sovereign and non-sovereign arms of these institutions can collaboratively shape markets to mobilize private capital more effectively and efficiently.

Speakers:

Bertrand Badré, Managing Partner and Founder, Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital
Gary Forster, CEO, Publish What You Fund
Hans Peter Lankes, Visiting Professor in Practice, Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics
Nezha Hayat, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, AMMC
Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
Nancy Lee, Director, Sustainable Development Finance and Senior Policy Fellow, CGD (moderator)

Livestream - Sept. 12, Morning

Livestream - Sept. 12, Afternoon

Welcoming Remarks

September 12, 9:30-9:45am

Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South

Keynote Address

September 12, 9:45-10:15am

Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of the Kingdom of Morocco, shares her perspective on the what the Global South needs from MDB reform and the way forward.

The G20 and MDB reform

September 12, 10:15-11:30am

This plenary will include a discussion of the Indian G20’s efforts on MDB reform and priorities for G20 presidency successors on the MDB reform agenda.

Speakers:

V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India
Wempi Saputra, Executive Director of Southeast Asia, World Bank Group and former Assistant Minister for Macro Economy and International Finance of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Indonesia
Iyabo Masha, Director of G24 Secretariat
William Roos, Assistant Secretary for Multilateral, Development and Trade Affairs, French Treasury
Margaret Kuhlow, Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Treasury
Jürgen Zattler, Director-General for International Development Policy, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Deepak Mishra, Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) (moderator)

An African Agenda for Global Financial Architecture: Will the MDBs Respond?

September 12, 11:45am-1:00pm

In April 2022, African Ministers of Finance identified five key priorities for global financial architecture reform, including issues those that require reforms within the multilateral development banks. This session seeks to understand the development impacts in Africa if the MDBs do not respond adequately, but to also understand what is realistic given competing demands such as global public goods and lagging ODA allocations from donors. At the same time, it is critical that African leaders speak with a common voice and focus on key priorities to influence ongoing dialogue on global financial architecture reform to ensure that such reforms benefit the world’s poorest. The session will explore stakeholder groups and platforms that can help amplify the voice of Africa in these debates.

Speakers:

Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
Zainab Ahmed, Alternate Executive Director, World Bank and former Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Hakim Ben Hammouda, Former Minister of Economy and Finance of Tunisia
Rob Floyd, Director for Innovation and Digital Policy, ACET
Hamid Tawfiki, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Caisse de Dépôt et Gestion, Morocco
Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President, ACET (moderator)

Keynote Address

September 12, 3:45-4:15pm

Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Morocco, shares her perspective on the what the Global South needs from MDB reform and the way forward.