26 April 2018
Spring Meeting Side Event Explores Security-Development Nexus
UN Photo/John Isaac
story highlights

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim opened the side event during the 2018 Spring Meetings, observing that refugees’ status often lasts decades, and they have development needs that humanitarian actors are ill equipped to address.

Boubou Cisse, Minister of Economy and Finance of Mali, said the Sahel Alliance is a model of international cooperation.

Officials from France and Baghdad also provided insights from their experience.

20 April 2018: Participants in an event on the sidelines of the 2018 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) exchanged views on the relationship between security and development. WBG President Jim Yong Kim noted that the current forced displacement crisis has led to a re-evaluation of how humanitarian and development actors interact. With refugees’ status often lasting decades, he said they have development needs that humanitarian actors are ill equipped to address.

The event titled, ‘The Security-Development Nexus,’ took place on 20 April 2018, and focused in particular on the stage of restoring peace and consolidating stability.

John Allen, Brookings Institution President, cautioned against “focusing exclusively on winning the war without preparing for peace.” Noting the need to immediately move to restore services after peace is reached, he called for joint planning among security, humanitarian and development actors. He also observed that reconciliation processes that include women have proven to be more durable.

Officials from Mali, France and Baghdad, Iraq provided insights from their experiences. Thikra Alwash, Mayor of Baghdad, described efforts to take advantage of improved security to clear roads and attract investments that would create jobs. These would provide a longer-term guarantee of stability, she said, emphasizing that security is critical for achieving development goals.

Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, observed that winning a war against radicalism is impossible if the population does not have a long-term perspective. This perspective, he said, can be achieved through education and economic recovery. The empowerment of women also is central to this, he noted. Boubou Cisse, Minister of Economy and Finance of Mali, said the Sahel Alliance is a model of international cooperation. He called for greater alignment among all development, security and humanitarian actors in order to ensure greater efficiency and impact.

The WBG and IMF Spring Meetings took place from 16-22 April, in Washington DC, US. [Spring Meetings Website] [World Bank Group Event Summaries] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on Spring Meetings]


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