Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Virtual Global Parliamentary Forum, 6 October 2021
Mr. Daniel Dulca, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General, attended the First Session of the Virtual Global Parliamentary Forum, entitled “The Health Emergency is Not Over. How We Can End the Pandemic and Accelerate Recovery?”, which was organized by the World Bank Group and the IMF, on 6 October 2021.
The event took place in an online format, with the participation of high ranking-officials of the IMF, also parliamentarians and representatives of parliamentary assemblies, companies and civil society organizations.
The meeting was opened and moderated by Rt Hon. Liam Byrne, MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF (United Kingdom).
The event included remarks from Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, IMF; Ms. Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist, IMF; Ms. Anabel González, Deputy Director-General, WTO; Ms Mari Pangestu, Managing Director, Development Policy & Partnerships, WBG; Ms. Jennifer Kristin Arias Falla, MP, Speaker of the Parliament, Colombia; Mr. Ricardo Leite, MP, Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Network, Portugal; Mr. Fadi Alame MP, Lebanon; Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng, MP, Chair of the Finance Committee, Ghana. A video message was presented to the participants by Ms. Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO.
During the Session it was discussed how parliament members can work together with the international financial institutions in order to reach, by the end of 2021, the target of at least, 40 percent vaccination in each country and of at least, 60 percent, by the first half of 2022, ensuring in 2021, at least 1 billion doses for the developing countries and providing funding which includes grants and concessional financing, also removing all the barriers for the export of inputs and finished vaccines, to supply chain operations.
Furthermore, the event presented an opportunity for legislators, to hear from high level representatives and experts of these institutions, about the most pressing issues concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and the policy recommendations that legislators can implement in their respective countries to mitigate its impact.
The meeting was concluded with a Q&A session and the participants were requested to fill in two online surveys concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and its most important repercussions on economy, health and labour sector.