IDOS at Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

From 09-15 October 2023, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took place in Marrakech. IDOS Director Prof. Anna-Katharina Hornidge as well as IDOS researchers, Prof. Ulrich Volz and Dr Yabibal Walle, were on-site.

This year’s Annual Meetings of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took place in Marrakech, Morocco, from 9-15 October. The annual meeting focused on the reforms called for by Federal Minister Schulze and other World Bank governors to enable the WB to better and more effectively address climate change and to strengthen global sustainable development. Against the backdrop of the WB’s central role in international development cooperation and building on the work of IDOS research programmes, Prof. Hornidge, Director of IDOS, as well as Prof. Ulrich Volz and Dr Yabibal Walle, both senior researchers at IDOS, represented the Institute at the WB and IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech.

While the meeting did not make progress in increasing the Bank’s paid-up capital, which, according to IDOS scholars is critical to empower the Bank to address the monumental challenges of our time, there was significant progress in some areas. For instance, the World Bank now has an expanded vision „to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet“ and a new mission „to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet“. In addition, the Bank rightly highlights Germany’s move in the area of hybrid capital. Germany’s contribution of 350 million euros will leverage 2.4 billion euros in additional IBRD lending over the next ten years. Other stakeholders are expected to follow suit. The United States has also supported portfolio guarantees that could unlock USD 25 billion in new IBRD lending.

World Bank President Ajay Banga has also announced that the Bank is exploring ways to make better use of the IMF’s callable capital and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), while acknowledging that doing so is complicated but achievable. As a result, IDOS’ scholars expect to see significant progress on hybrid capital, SDRs, callable capital and portfolio guarantees by the time of the Spring Meetings in Washington DC in October 2024.

In addition to discussions on reforming international financial cooperation, Anna-Katharina Hornidge focused on the importance of international cooperation in the field of health in October. She attended the World Health Summit in Berlin on 19 October, where she gave input on One Health policy-making at a side event organised by IDOS Health Research Project. She stressed the importance of urgent governance to enable healthy lives on a healthy planet.