From October 22 to 26 the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund(IMF) Annual Meetings took place in Washington D.C.:

This year the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid (BHO), Reinette Klever, could not attend and was represented by Finance Minister, Eelco Heinen. Beyond that numerous other Dutch Government and Banking Officials (including from Aruba and Curacao) were present.

The World Bank Group’s journey to become a better, bigger, and more effective Bank has advanced at a rapid pace, per President Ajay Banga’s statements. That progress— and a new focus and ambition on jobs—was on full display at the Annual Meetings, showcasing the momentum of their reform agenda and laying out the vision for the next chapter.

The Meetings presented new targets on agribusiness and gender. The WBG is making a strategic pivot to create a comprehensive ecosystem for the agriculture sector. This new integrated approach will bring together all the institution’s resources to offer comprehensive support to an area that is being fundamentally reshaped by climate change, innovations in finance, digitalization, and solutions to fragmentation. The Bank announced a new level of investment—aiming to double its agri-finance and agribusiness commitments to $9 billion annually by 2030.

On gender, the WBG took the first steps toward implementing the Gender Strategy 2030, announcing a set of actions and concrete goals that aim to boost economic opportunities for more women. These include a set of targets around broadband, social protection, and access to capital for women. 

The meetings also highlighted recent moves that will generate around $150 billion in additional financing capacity over the coming decade and unveiled the new WBG Scorecard, which goes from 150 items to 22 indicators, and is more oriented on output, not just on input.

The International Development Association (IDA) was another consistent theme throughout the Meetings. As a critical partner for the countries most in need, IDA wields powerful weapons against poverty—affordable financing and development knowledge.

Furthermore, the new WBG corporate flagship report ‘Business Ready’ (B-READY), that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide, was unveiled. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment.

During the Development Committee (DC), the main consultative body of the WBG, participants thanked President Ajay Banga and highlighted the progress achieved in significant reforms, such as strengthening the institution’s financial capacity by USD 150 billion over the next ten years.

On behalf of the Netherlands, the Finance Minister emphasized the importance of food security, water, and health during his statement at the Development Committee. He urged the WBG to reduce fragmentation within the development architecture and called for enhanced communication about the results achieved to garner more public support.

Other notable matters:

– The Special Envoy for Ukraine attended the annual meeting for the sixth ministerial roundtable conference on Ukraine, engaging in various discussions at the WBG and IMF.

– The Director for Inclusive Green Growth also attended and spoke with several Bank directors about food security, climate, and water.

– The sixth ministerial roundtable on Ukraine during the Annual Meetings drew significant attention to the successful fifth IMF review and the U.S. commitment made on the same day to contribute USD 20 billion to loans for Ukraine, achieving the G7 pledge of a total loan package of USD 50 billion. Netherlands support for Ukraine.

– Following the Annual Meetings, the penultimate negotiation round for the 21st replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) took place from October 28 to 29. Many of the Dutch (BHO) priorities were included in the proposed policy and financing packages, moving negotiations into the final phase. Client countries reiterated the importance of themes such as food, jobs, energy access, and private sector development. Donors largely supported these points, calling for attention to tax collection, debt management, and fragility; however, many donors, including the Netherlands, had yet to make commitments regarding financial contributions at this stage of negotiations.

With this short summary we hope to give you a glimpse of the Dutch Government’s involvement during the IMF / World Bank Group annual meetings which take place every year in October.