Following the global community’s dispersed reactions to a series of disruptive global crises, it’s time for international architecture to move from an era of induced response to an era of inspired reform. These rises have left in their wake a stagnated global economy, a tumultuous geopolitical landscape, and a massive need for investment in emerging and developing economies. While an increasing number of issues reach across borders, so must the solutions. International Financial institutions (IFIs) are best equipped to meet these challenges, although their original frameworks have been outpaced by the global challenges testing the limits of their mandates.
This year’s Annual Meeting will explore the need for global governance reform and the ways in which the International Financial Institutions can evolve to meet the economic, geopolitical, and cross-border challenges of the new era.
All sessions are held in-person, on-site at the IMF Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Remote viewers will be able to watch the in-person sessions through the IMF Connect Live Stream.
If you plan to attend pre-registration is required before March 28, 2023. For any questions, kindly contact Stephanie Wasserman, Program Associate, at register@brettonwoods.org, with the subject line “AM23 Registration”.
We will follow up shortly after, with specific instructions on how you can obtain accreditation with the IMF.
CONFERENCE AGENDA
Additional sessions and speakers will be announced soon!
APRIL 10 – IMF HQ2
Scaling Up Resilience and Sustainability Financing
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM ET
• Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director, IMF
• Deborah Lehr, Vice Chairperson & Executive Director, Paulson Institute
• Jin Liqun, President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
• Kenneth Lay, Senior Managing Director, RockCreek; former Treasurer, World Bank
• Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda
• Vera Songwe, Chair, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, UNECA
• John Lipsky, Vice-Chair, Bretton Woods Committee (Moderator)
“What we cannot survive is an unmitigated climate crisis,” MD Georgieva opened the IFF, BWC, and Paulson Institute event with the strongest possible language on climate crisis. Considering this, the panel felt that there was reason to be optimistic. Georgieva was happy to announce that there were 44 countries in line for RST funding and the panel felt that this may be a reflection of the need for longer horizon financing from the fund and expected even more countries to get in line. While there remains work to be done on an effective way to bring private capital into the solution, there was general agreement that actionable solutions were within reach.
APRIL 11 – IMF HQ1
Opening Remarks
• William C. Dudley, Chair, Bretton Woods Committee
In Conversation with Kristalina Georgieva
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET
• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
• John Lipsky, Vice-Chair, Bretton Woods Committee (Moderator)
“Where are the women to solve them?” MD Georgieva kicked off BWC’s 2023 Annual Meeting by discussing the current state of affairs and the myriad of problems faced by the globe today. A sovereign debt crisis, impending climate disaster, and slowing global economy were all top of mind when the IMF Managing Director spoke of the institution’s new global growth forecast. While it was seen by many to be a sign of economic weakening, Georgieva felt that in this context it was a reasonably positive outlook. The positivity did not stop there as she shared her cautious optimism with BWC’s John Lipsky about the potential of a new sovereign debt roundtable that was to convene for the first time that week.
In Conversation with David Malpass
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET
• David Malpass, President, World Bank Group
• William R. Rhodes, Vice Chair, Bretton Woods Committee (Moderator)
In President David Malpass’ conversation with BWC’s William R. Rhodes, Malpass highlighted progress made on World Bank reform efforts. He pointed to the $2.4 trillion financing need by developing countries just for global public goods and was confident that shareholders would endorse his proposed increase in the Bank’s lending capacity by $50 billion over 10 years. Malpass felt this set the stage for the incoming World Bank President to make continued progress on the World Bank evolution roadmap.
The President thanked BWC for spotlighting the sovereign debt crisis and providing specific and detailed solutions on how to make the debt restructuring architecture more effective. Rhodes thanked Malpass for guiding the World Bank through one of the most complicated and tumultuous times in the Bank’s history.
Private Sector Engagement and Equitable Burden Sharing: A New Model
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
• William Rhodes, Co-Chair, Sovereign Debt Working Group, BWC
• Carl Ross, Portfolio Manager and Sovereign Credit Analyst, GMO
• Trang Nguyen, Global Head of EM Credit Strategy, BNP Paribas
• Dr. Xuan Changneng, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China
• Richard J. Cooper, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
• Mark Walker, Senior Managing Director, Sovereign Advisory Guggenheim Securities, LLC
Who gets a seat at the table? That was the question of the day during BWC’s sovereign debt focused panel. The answer was: everyone. The official sector, the private sector, China, and western creditor nations were all named as key players in the process of equitable debt restructuring and burden sharing. The panel made the point that only when all of these actors are working in concert do countries have a chance of climbing out of the dire crises they are in and regaining market access.
A Pivotal Moment for IFIs
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
• Axel Weber, Co-Chair, Multilateral Reform Working Group, Bretton Woods Committee
• Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner and CEO SouthBridge Investments
• Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
• Xian Zhu, Vice President and Secretary General, The International Finance Forum (IFF)
• Siddharth Tiwari, Fellow, Chatham House, London; Senior Advisor to India’s G20 Sherpa; Vice-President, The International Finance Forum (IFF)
BWC’S newly formed working group had a crucial discussion on the full scope of problems that are facing global policymakers today, such as rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, and climate change to name just a few from a long list. “What’s stopping us from making progress in dealing with these issues?” asked Masood Ahmed. A lack of political consensus on shared priorities and the staggering cost of investment needed now with benefits only being reaped later argued the panelists. Multilateral institutions are best equipped to deal with these issues but they are in need of urgent reform both in terms of their mandates and their financial adequacy. Reform efforts are underway and as they continue to progress, the IFIs must recognize that the priorities and financing needs of their member states vary greatly.
Closing Remarks
• Emily Slater, Executive Director, Bretton Woods Committee
Reception
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET
APRIL 12 – LEADERSHIP LUNCHEON
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET │ By Invitation Only
The Leadership Luncheon is an exclusive opportunity for BWC Board and Advisory Council members, members of the Distinguished Giving Society, Gold and Silver organizational members, Annual Meeting sponsors and speakers.
APRIL 13 – MEMBER MEETING
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM ET │ Zoom Virtual Event
Members are invited to join BWC’s Membership Committee, Executive Committee and Secretariat to discuss progress on BWC’s strategic plan and future initiatives. Reach to membership@brettonwoods.org to share your questions, comments, and ideas in advance. To participate, kindly register your attendance with us.