Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Virtual Global Parliamentary Forum at the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings 2020, 12 - 15 October 2020
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF co-organized a virtual Global Parliamentary Forum on the occasion of the Annual Meetings, on 12 - 15 October 2020.
Mr. Miltiadis Makrygiannis, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General attended the 4-day virtual event.
The first part of the Virtual Global Parliamentary Forum titled “Virtual Townhall with World Bank and IMF Senior Leadership”, offered an opportunity for parliamentarians to engage with World Bank Group President Mr. David Malpass and Ms. Kristalina Georgieva in her capacity as IMF Managing Director. Mr. Malpass and Ms. Georgieva presented the latest work and priorities of the World Bank and the IMF, in particular their unprecedented response to the COVID-19 crisis and recovery efforts, followed by a Questions and Answers session with the parliamentarians who attended the event.
On 13 October, a special Women Leading Politics and Development session took place and brought together a panel of distinguished female Speakers of Parliament and leaders to mobilize global legislators around advocacy for gender equality, the empowerment of women and their inclusion in building back better post COVID-19. The participants focused on how women’s increased presence in leadership and politics can forge global development solutions, as female representation at every level of decision-making is essential to build inclusive and flourishing societies.
On 14th October (day 3), a session under the title “Achieving a Green and Inclusive Recovery post Covid-19” allowed parliamentarians to exchange with their colleagues and notably World Bank Group Vice President and Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart and IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath on what needs to be done to jumpstart economies while ensuring that the economic recovery does not leave the most vulnerable groups of the population behind and is respectful of the environment. The panelists pointed that shutdowns and reductions in activities during the pandemic demonstrated the need to rethink social and economic models of development to make them more inclusive and sustainable.
During the last day of the Forum (15th October), a “Policy Reforms Supporting Private Sector Investment for Green and Inclusive Growth” took place. The distinguished panelists expressed the view that while being an integral part of the collective response to improve resilience and build back better, the private and investment sectors need to undergo reforms to strengthen their impact and help pave the path for a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient world. Moreover, they argued about the way the private sector and private investment need to change, including capital markets and capital law, reform of shareholder values and investment framework and debated ways to reform the production and trade system, as well as taxation, into a more sustainable model.