13 October 2016
UNDP, World Bank Support Small States to Achieve SDGs
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights

Addressing the Small States Forum (SSF) during the World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said that during the current volatile and unpredictable times, Small States will continue to be affected by forces beyond their control, in particular climate change and disasters, and she outlined how UNDP plans to support them.

Also during the Forum, the World Bank Group launched a report that takes stock of its engagement with Small States.

2016_annual_meetings6 October 2016: Addressing the Small States Forum (SSF) during the World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said that during the current volatile and unpredictable times, Small States will continue to be affected by forces beyond their control, in particular climate change and disasters, and she outlined how UNDP plans to support them. Also during the Forum, the World Bank Group launched a report that takes stock of its engagement with Small States.

Small States are defined as countries that have a population of 1.5 million or less, or are members of the SSF. Since 2000, the SSF has convened finance ministers and Central Bank governors from 50 member states, along with high-level representatives from the UN, IMF, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNDP and the Commonwealth Secretariat, during the Annual Meetings. The 2016 SSF, ‘Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future: Opportunities for Financing and Partnerships,’ took place on 6 October 2016, in Washington, DC, US.

Clark said UNDP stands ready to work with Small States and other development partners, including from the private sector, to identify the key drivers of each country’s potential sustainable growth. UNDP also seeks to: build capacities to take growth strategies forward; catalyze investments from public and private sources; and engage citizens and the private sector in this effort. Recalling the proposals tabled during SSF 2015 to establish a technical working group among the development banks and other development partners, Clark said UNDP and the World Bank have held several discussions on taking the plan forward and looked forward to beginning this work soon, in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat, and in coordination with Small States.

The report, titled ‘World Bank Group Engagement with Small States: Taking Stock,’ launched during SSF: looks at the World Bank’s activities, programs, lending, and trust funds targeted at Small States; discusses the range of constraints that Small States face with regards to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and describes the Bank’s work to address these constraints through its set of financing, analytic and convening instruments, tailored for Small States through special arrangements, policy exemptions, and innovative financing tools; and notes innovative ways in which the Bank released additional resources, often in partnership with other development organizations.

The Report is structured in six chapters on: the definition and rationale of the study; Small States’ equitable growth, finance, and institutions; Small States’ sustainable development; Small States’ health, gender, and conflict; development partnerships; and the way forward.

During the forum, Oliver Joseph, Grenada’s Minister of Economic Development, assumed the SSF Chairmanship from Jean-Paul Adam, Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy. [UNDP Administrator Remarks] [SSF Website] [World Bank Group Engagement with Small States: Taking Stock] [Grenada News on SSF Chairmanship]

related posts