Reshaping development for a new era at the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings

Ahead of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC later this month, Mastercard for Government caught up with Heba Shams , Vice President, Global Public Policy & Head of Multilateral Engagement, Inclusive Fintech and International Development Fellow at the Policy Center for the Digital Economy to discuss what's on the agenda for the bi-annual gathering of multilateral leaders.

Q: Tell us about the theme of this year’s IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings 'Reshaping Development for a New Era'. How will this guide the discussions in Washington?

A: The governors of the World Bank and the IMF representing 190 member countries convene twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, to discuss the business of the two global institutions and the outlook for the global economy more broadly.

This round, however, will be different. Both the global North (the donor countries) and the global South (the borrowing countries) want to see the system for development assistance reformed. This desire for policy change is focused on re-envisioning the role of the World Bank and how it works. Both camps agree on the need for major change and will seek to find agreement on what that change should be.

This debate, centered on the questions of how the World Bank should finance development and what it should finance, will shape the discussions this month and beyond.

Developed countries want to see the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions spend more on addressing climate change and other global public goods.

Developing countries, however, have raised concerns that this shift may undermine their access to resources to finance health, education and infrastructure. Some, however, see it as two sides to the same coin. As Ajay Banga, the World Bank presidential nominee told Axios, “I think it’s a fallacious argument that says, either-or,” “[…] this is an intertwined challenge.”

Q: How prominent will themes around digitalization and digital public infrastructure be at this year’s meeting?

A: Digitalization and Fintech are one of the five themes highlighted in the Spring Meetings program. Discussions of the digital divide and digital financial inclusion are once again highly prominent.

Similarly, discussions around the future of cryptocurrencies as well as central bank digital currencies continue to command attention. With India’s G20 Presidency, digital public infrastructure is high on the agenda in public sessions and closed-door proceedings.

Q: How is Mastercard contributing to the dialogues?

A: The Spring and Annual Meetings of the World Bank are in my opinion the two most prominent global public policy events each year – even more so since the pandemic.

This season, Mastercard will have several senior leaders contributing to the discussion. Our CEO, Michael Miebach , will be in Washington engaging with government officials and leaders of multilateral organizations on the topics of digitalization, trust, and inclusion.

Raghu Malhotra , Mastercard's Co-President for International Markets will be participating in discussions about innovation, trust, and inclusion in the digital transformation in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.?

Timothy Murphy , Mastercard's Chief Administration Officer, will be joining Arturo Herrera Gutierrez, the World Bank's Global Director for Governance, in a discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council in collaboration with the Mastercard Policy Centre for the Digital Economy to talk about A Governance Agenda for a Digital First Future.

Meanwhile, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth is once again hosting the Global Inclusive Growth Summit in partnership with the Aspen Institute. Held on the margins of the Spring Meetings, the conference brings together public sector officials, private sector leaders, and social impact organizations for action-oriented discussions on national and international issues.

Mastercard's contribution will focus on the importance of promoting trust in the digital economy and ensuring the digital transformation supports inclusion, innovation, competition, and consumer choice.

Q: Looking ahead to the Annual meetings in Marrakesh later this year, what’s top of mind for policymakers on the Road to Morocco?

A: Every three years the World Bank and the IMF hold their Annual Meetings outside of Washington, shining a light on a specific region of the world. In Marrakesh, the economies of Africa and the Middle East will be front and center in the discussions.

Global policymakers have much to grapple with this year, from rising debt to food insecurity, climate change and conflict. As far as the governors of these key multilateral institutions are concerned, however, it is the negotiations to reach clear commitment in Marrakesh regarding the evolution of the World Bank and the future of international development, that will likely preoccupy them the most.

Keep up to date with the latest insights from the Mastercard Policy Center here.