Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat participated in the Intergovernmental G24 Ministers and Governors Meeting that was held on Friday in conjunction with the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2022 Spring Meetings.
This included the participation of Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva and President of the WBG David Malpass.
The meeting witnessed discussions on the international economic situation, the various challenges facing development efforts globally — especially developing and emerging countries — the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate challenges.
Al-Mashat pointed out the risks surrounding the current global economic situation due to high inflation rates, supply chain challenges, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, saying that the current global situation necessitates continuous international cooperation and coordination to develop solutions and support from international financial institutions, the IMF, and the WBG in developing and emerging countries.
She explained that the aforementioned challenges cause a multiplier effect, especially as they coincide with the global plans to develop innovative solutions to overcome and mitigate the effects of climate changes, adding that the current state of affairs requires effective international cooperation and continued joint action to achieve sustainable development.
The minister also said that the world needs effective private sector participation across all countries to implement development projects and support government efforts in the national agenda, noting the importance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in developing mechanisms to address economic and social challenges and to empower countries — especially emerging and developing economies — whilst encouraging private sector participation.
It is worth noting that the G24 meeting was chaired by President of the Central Bank of Guatemala Sergio Francisco Recinos Rivera, who stressed the importance of continued and close multilateral cooperation to maintain rule-based trade, food, and energy security; financial stability; and increasing financing for developing economies.
Furthermore, the G24 communique called for urgent and stronger global responses to COVID-19 vaccine access and distribution — especially in low-income economies — explaining that countries should overcome supply barriers by facilitating timely cross border flows of vaccines and treatments and sharing technologies to enhance their supply.
It also called for the WBG and other multilateral development banks to strengthen their balance sheets to the fullest extent possible, boosting lending capacity while preserving financial prudence and resilience.
Furthermore, it stressed the need for an increase in funding provided by multilateral development banks to support public investments needed to stimulate post-pandemic recovery, address the main drivers of inequality, confront the education crisis, and prevent deep economic impacts.
The G24 also called on the WBG to develop a medium-term strategy for middle-income countries, considering their evolving landscape and circumstance, as many of them face challenges in transforming their economies to improve their medium-term growth prospects and reduce high levels of poverty and inequality.
