Sitharaman wants to see increase in World Bank capacity
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says enabling private capital mobilisation at scale will require an enhanced ‘One World Bank’ approach.
“But at the same time, we must be realistic in our assessment of the potential of private capital mobilisation, given the global economic outlook,” she told the World Bank’s 108th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13 Oct 2023.
Recognising that further work is needed beyond Marrakech to increase the Bank’s capacity to realise enhanced ambition, Sitharaman said:
It is important to ensure that the augmented WBG country engagement model is firmly rooted in national development priorities. Also, while engaging in climate action in line with the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, we encourage the World Bank to be more ambitious in its commitment to adaptation finance”.
Appetite for the proposed pilot Global Challenge Programs (GCPs) will depend on strong country demand and ownership, access to new and additional finance, as well as provision of concessional finance, for both Low-Income Countries (LICs) and Middle-Income Countries (MICs).
“We fully agree with the conclusion that significantly more could be done for clients by mobilising new, additional resources for the World Bank – especially by maximising IDA replenishment to address the needs of the poorest countries and general capital increase for IBRD.”
The Minister concluded by reiterating that today’s challenging times call for a transformational approach to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the true spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or ‘One Earth, One family, One future’.
The agenda for the meeting was “Ending Poverty on a Liveable Planet – Report to Governors on World Bank Evolution”. fiinews.com
