Joint Seminar: Reform Priorities for Tackling Debt
JOINT SEMINAR EVENT
DATE: October 12, 2023
DAY: Thursday
3:45 PM - 4:45 PM
LOCATION: AA02 Al Karaouine
Overview
Many countries, especially low-income and emerging economies, are suffering under the weight of high debt. Large debt burdens constrain countries’ capacity to invest in areas such as education, health, social protection, or infrastructure. For some, debt is already unsustainable. This seminar will explore options to boost resilience to debt risks, including through domestic reforms to enhance growth, improve expenditure policies and domestic revenue mobilization, and strengthen debt management. It will also discuss the need for scaled-up support from the global community through the provision of concessional finance and technical assistance to underpin domestic reform / policy changes, as well as improvements in sovereign debt restructuring processes to ensure debt relief can be delivered in a timely and predictable manner when needed.Joint Seminar: Reform Priorities for Tackling Debt
Panelists
Panelist: Kristalina Georgieva
Panelist: Ajay Banga
Ajay Banga, 14th President of the World Bank Group.
Ajay Banga began his five-year term as World Bank Group President on June 2, 2023.
Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees. Under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. He was Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. Banga served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.
Ajay Banga is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute and was Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding’s Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.
Panelist: His Excellency Mohammed Al-Jadaan
Panelist: Anna Gelpern
Panelist: Situmbeko Musokotwane
Hon. Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance and National Planning. He was appointed as the Minister of Finance and National Planning for the Republic of Zambia in August 2021. In his current portfolio, he has been at the forefront of spearheading Zambia’s economic transformation agenda. In November, 2021, he successfully led discussions for Zambia to reach a Staff Level Agreement with the International Monetary Fund under the Fund’s Extended Credit Facility which was approved in August, 2022. This Facility has supported Zambia’s economic recovery efforts. Dr. Musokotwane has also led the Ministry in discussions with Zambia’s Official Creditor Committee who in June 2023 reached an agreement for debt treatment in accordance with the principle of rendering Zambia’s debt to be sustainable.
Dr. Musokotwane has served as Minister of Finance, Economic Advisor to Zambia’s third Republican President and has held other key positions in Government and the Central Bank of Zambia. He holds a Doctorate in Monetary Economics from the University of Konstanz in Germany, a Master of Arts in Monetary Economics from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Zambia.