His Excellency Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, today chaired the main session of the 108th meeting of the joint World Bank Group (WBG)/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Development Committee.

The meeting was attended by Ajay Bunga, President of the WBG, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, and Mercy Tembon, Executive Secretary of the Development Committee, along with ministers of finance and development from all over the world and the WBG and IMF boards of governors. It was held in Marrakech, Morocco at the sidelines of the annual meetings of the WBG and IMF.

Addressing attendees in his opening remarks, His Excellency Al Hussaini said: “The committee expresses its solidarity with the Moroccan and Libyan people and authorities and offered its deep condolences to the families of the earthquake and flooding victims. We collectively call on international partners, including the World Bank and the IMF, to provide the necessary assistance for reconstruction efforts.”

He thanked the members for their constructive contributions, adding: “We endorse the World Bank’s new vision to create a world free of poverty. We also endorse its new mission, to boost shared prosperity by strengthening inclusion, resilience, and sustainability. This vision and mission will underpin a new playbook with solutions to support country priorities and address intertwined global challenges to drive impactful development with speed and scale.”
The Development Committee said it looked forward to the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai and called on the World Bank to further strengthen its engagement and collaboration with partners to lead climate change adaptation, mitigation, and biodiversity.

The attendees discussed the formidable development challenges, amplified by multiple global crises faced by the most vulnerable people in the world. The committee noted that these crises have upended decades of hard-won development progress and called on the development community to respond together to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to eliminate poverty, boost shared prosperity, and address global challenges urgently.

The committee welcomed progress on the World Bank Evolution Roadmap, which strengthened the Bank’s operational and financial model, enhancing its country-driven model, included an agreement on eight global challenges and the US$50 billion of additional lending capacity over the next ten years.
Beyond Marrakech, the committee noted, further work is needed to complete these ambitious reforms, which could further increase World Bank financing and operational capacity to become a better, bigger, and more effective Bank. This includes increasing private and public resources, while also using knowledge more effectively and further development of the Global Challenge Programs.

On the issue of debt sustainability, the development committee recognized World Bank and IMF collaboration, together with the Paris Club and G20 non-Paris Club creditors and reaffirmed the importance of efforts by all actors, including private creditors, to continue working to enhance debt management and transparency.
The members discussed the transformative impact of the empowerment of women and girls, agreeing that the next phase of Evolution places a greater emphasis on the Bank’s role in driving progress on gender equality and human development.

During his two-year chairmanship of the Development Committee, His Excellency Al Hussaini will work with members to advise the Board of Governors of the WBG and the IMF on stimulating sustainable economic development and building and improving resources in developing countries
The development committee is known formally as the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries and was established in 1974. It has 25 members, usually Ministers of Finance or Development. The Chair is selected from among the Committee’s members, and is assisted by an Executive Secretary who is elected by the Committee. The next meeting of the Development Committee is scheduled for April 2024, in Washington, D.C.