The 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed ways to strengthen collaboration to “harness the power of multilateralism to the benefit of all.” During the event, members of the Development Committee endorsed the World Bank’s new vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.

The Annual Meetings took place from 9-15 October in Marrakech, Morocco, under the theme, ‘Global Action, Global Impact,’ where the World Bank Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) also convened. The Annual Meetings focused on building economic resilience, securing transformational reforms, and reinvigorating global cooperation.

In a statement to the Development Committee, the UN: outlined a global plan to rescue the SDGs amid crises and slow progress toward the Goals; emphasized the need to bridge the SDGs financing gap by supporting the UN Secretary-General’s proposal for an SDG Stimulus of at least USD 500 billion per year; and called for a “bigger and better” World Bank. Among next steps for the SDG Stimulus, the UN proposed three actions:

• Re-channel Special Drawing Rights (SDGs), including to MDBs;
• Address both debt overhang and debt restructuring in developing economies; and
• Mainstream state-contingent debt clauses.

The UN issued a similar statement to the IMFC.

In his plenary speech, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga drew attention to the World Bank’s new mission and playbook to “drive impactful development and lead to a better quality of life – access to clean air, clean water, education and decent health care.” He emphasized that the Bank’s mission is: inclusive of everyone, including women and young people; resilient to shocks, including climate and biodiversity crises, pandemics, and fragility; and sustainable, through growth and job creation, human development, and fiscal and debt management, as well as food security and access to clean air, water, and affordable energy. “[I]t sets us on a journey that will require reimagined partnerships, a new way of working and thinking, an innovative plan to scale and replicate, additional resources, and optimism for what could be possible,” Banga said.

According to a World Bank feature story, members of the Development Committee amplified the World Bank’s renewed focus on jobs, women, and youth in the Chair’s Statement, “which reflects the views of the majority of Committee Members,” by endorsing its new mission, vision, and playbook. Committee members recognize the World Bank’s “ongoing work on crisis preparedness, response, and recovery, including the launch of the Climate Resilient Debt Clause for the most vulnerable borrowers,” and call on the World Bank and the IMF to “work closely together on debt sustainability.”

On the occasion of the Annual Meetings, Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah, and Bank Al‑Maghrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri issued a set of four Marrakech Principles for Global Cooperation, to build resilience and expand opportunities for a better future:

• Reinvigorating inclusive and sustainable growth, by promoting growth-enhancing structural reforms, expanding financing sources, and addressing fragility;
• Building resilience, by strengthening institutional capacity, maintaining external stability, strengthening public debt management and resolution frameworks, enhancing global crisis preparedness and mitigation, and decoupling growth from climate risk;
• Supporting transformational reforms, by accelerating the green transition, managing technological transformations, enhancing health systems and preparedness, promoting equitable and quality education, and building gender equality; and
• Strengthening and modernizing global cooperation, by strengthening the international monetary system, strengthening the multilateral trading system (MTS), and enhancing collaboration.

In her plenary address, Georgieva said investment in strong economic foundations and investment in international cooperation should shape “the story of the next 50 years” – a message captured in the Marrakech Principles.

Concluding their discussion in Marrakech, heads of MDBs issued a statement, in which they agree to strengthen collaboration in five critical areas: 1) Scaling up financing capacity; 2) Boosting joint action on climate; 3) Enhancing country-level collaboration; 4) Strengthening co-financing; and 5) Catalyzing private sector engagement. [Annual Meetings World Bank Webpage] [Annual Meetings IMF Webpage] [Host Country Website] [World Bank Story]