Curbing Corruption by Improving Economic Governance in the Middle East and Central Asia

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IMF SEMINAR EVENT

DATE: April 11, 2019

DAY: Thursday

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

LOCATION: IMF HQ1, Meetings Halls A&B (HQ1-3-430 A&B)

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Overview

Corruption is damaging. It corrodes trust in government. It leeches money from citizens and taxpayers. It undermines growth and inclusiveness. Corruption may be difficult to detect and fight, but not impossible. With political will, it can be curbed, starting by improving economic governance. The seminar will identify key areas of economic governance weaknesses in countries in the Middle East and Central Asia and discuss policies to address them. It will also provide an opportunity to exchange experiences on efforts across the world to improve governance and fight corruption.

Join the conversation via #CurbingCorruption

Curbing Corruption by Improving Economic Governance in the Middle East and Central Asia

Panelists

Moderator: Nemat Minouche Shafik

Nemat Minouche Shafik, Director, London School of Economics

An economist by training, Minouche has spent most of her career straddling the worlds of public policy and academia. After completing her BSc in economics and politics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, she took an MSc in economics at LSE before completing a DPhil in economics at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. She was appointed Director of LSE in September 2017.

During her extensive career, Minouche has worked in senior positions at the World Bank, the Department for International Development and the IMF before becoming Deputy Governor of the Bank of England in 2014. In this role, she sat on all of the Bank’s major policy committees and led the Fair and Effective Markets Review.

Minouche currently serves as a Trustee of the British Museum, the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Governor of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and is Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College Oxford. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in 2015.

Opening Remarks: Tao Zhang

Tao Zhang

Mr. Tao ZHANG assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF on August 22, 2016. He brings extensive international economic expertise and experience in policymaking, including with international financial institutions, from his previous appointments as the Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China and IMF’s Executive Director for China from 2011 to 2015.

Prior to his position as the Deputy Governor, Mr. Zhang held a number of high-level positions in the People’s Bank of China: Director-General of the Legal Affairs Department; Director-General of the International Department; and, Director-General of Financial Survey and Statistics Department. Mr. Zhang also worked at the World Bank from 1995 to 1997 and at the Asian Development Bank from 1997 to 2004.

Mr. Zhang holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Finance from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Panelist: Aleksi Aleksishvili

Aleksei Aleksishvili While working as Minister of Finance of Georgia between 2005 and 2007, he successfully conducted a series of reforms in the domains of public finance, tax and customs policy and administration as well as economic deregulation and liberalization domains. Notably, Georgia was ranked by the World Bank “Doing Business” survey as the world’s top reformer country in 2005-10

Panelist: Sawsan Gharaibeh

Sawsan Gharaibeh Sawsan Gharaibeh, is the Co-Founder and Chairperson of Rasheed (Transparency International-Jordan), the leading civil society organization working on integrity and transparency in Jordan. She offers input into matters of transparency and integrity focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals, elections, health regulation, and the private sector. Ms. Gharaibeh is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and the King Hussein Memorial Fulbright Scholarship. She also served on the board of the Virginia Journal for International Law and the review committee for American Fulbright scholars to Jordan for the years 2010, 2011 and 2016.

Panelist: Zeine Zeidane

Zeine Zeidane Zeine Zeidane is a Deputy Director in the IMF African Department. He co-authored the Board paper on the new framework for enhanced engagement on governance. He served as a mission chief for the United Arab Emirates and Algeria. Before joining the IMF in March 2012, he held several positions in Mauritania notably Prime Minister, Governor of the Central Bank, and Economic Advisor to the President. He also worked with the World Bank and in the banking sector. He holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and a Post-Graduate Degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Nice, France.