General Activities 2010

2010 IMF/WB Spring Meetings April 24-25,2010

Each spring, the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee and the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee hold meetings to discuss the progress of the work of the Bank and the Fund. Along with the meetings of the Boards of Governors, the World Bank and the IMF organize lectures and roundtables to facilitate the interaction of governments and Bank-IMF staff with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), journalists, and the private sector. This initiative is an effort to contribute to the transparency of the work done by both organizations. Some of the sessions that may be highlighted this year include the following: “From Global Collapse to Recovery: Economic Adjustment and Growth Prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean”, by Augusto de la Torre, World Bank Chief Economist for the LAC - Latin America and the Caribbean (April 21st starting at 12 PM); the lecture “Imbalances, Global Financial Stability and Growth in a Post-crisis World”, with Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley (April 22nd starting at 11:30 AM); and the roundtable “LAC Beyond the Crisis: Blessed or Cursed by Commodity Wealth?”, with: Andres Velasco, Former Minister of Finance of Chile; Pedro Malan, Chairman, International Advisory Board, Itaú Unibanco; and Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Center for International Development at Harvard University, as panelists and moderated by Javier Blas, Commodities Correspondent, Financial Times (April 23rd at 2 PM); and “Haiti and the Haiti Reconstruction Fund” by Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, and Alexandre Abrantes, World Bank Special Envoy to Haiti (on April 24th at 9:15 AM); The complete schedule of the meetings and other useful information is available on the website of the Meeting.

The Inter-American Development Bank 2010 Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors 19-23 March 2010 Cancún, Mexico

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) held its annual meeting from 19 to 23 March in Cancún, Mexico. The conclusions from the meeting included:   a) Cancellation of Haiti’s debt of US$ 479 million with the Bank, and an additional US$ 2 billion in aid over the next 10 years; b) A capital increase of US$ 70 billion, which will increase the Bank’s total capital to US$ 170 billion and allow for a double lending capacity of US$ 12 billion a year in its priority work areas, namely: o lending to small and vulnerable economies, o poverty reduction plans, o climate change initiatives, and o regional cooperation and integration programs; c) A full replenishment to ensure the liquidity of the Fund for Special Operations, the IDB arm for concessional lending for Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua. Link to summary in Word document.

High Level Retreat hosted by UN

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S RETREAT WITH HEADS OF REGIONAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Monday, January 11, 2010 – Tuesday, January 12, 2010

On January 11 and 12 of 2010, Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of the American States (OAS), participated in a High Level Retreat hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  The retreat was held on Long Island, New York, and included 12 heads of regional and other organizations to address the theme "Cooperation in Times of Crisis".  SG Insulza was accompanied by Dr. Irene Klinger, Director of the Department of International Affairs/ SER.

Participants in the informal forum were able to discuss issues of critical concern to their respective regions and to identify possible new avenues for improving future cooperation in times of crises between the UN and regional organizations.

Discussions began with an address by Mr. Ban Ki-moon on “Global Realities and Regional Challenges”. Regional leaders then focused on three themes in the following panels.  SG Insulza presented the opening remarks in the first session on “Cooperating in Times of Crisis: Crisis Prevention and Mediation”.  He also intervened as a discussant in the other two panels on “Cooperating in times of crisis: crisis management and implementation of agreements” and “New avenues for cooperation”.

Along with SG Insulza, participants in the High Level Retreat  included the heads of  the African Union Commission (AU), Caribbean Community, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), European Commission (EC), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), League of Arab States, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIF), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).   SG Insulza met bilaterally with the UN Secretary General and with the Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Mr. Marc Perrin de Brichambaut and agreed to follow up with the latter for intensified institutional cooperation during 2010. Link to summary in Word document