The World Bank Group organized a Global Parliamentary Workshop from April 5-6, 2021 alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF (PN) on the occasion of the virtual 2021 Spring Meetings. The two-day event connected legislators from around the world with their peers and experts from the World Bank and IMF on the theme “From the Pandemic to the Paris Agreement: How to avoid a great divergence.”
More than 160 parliamentarians from 53 countries and the European Parliament convened to share successful strategies for navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and leading their countries through to a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery. Parliamentarians, as drivers of change and guardians of transparency, play an important part in embarking their countries on a greener, smarter, more equitable development path. Through creative policies and reforms as well as targeted resources, they can help set the foundation for long term, robust growth.
“Parliamentarians’ role in targeting funding and tailoring programs to the most vulnerable and marginalized people, overseeing governments – especially in support of transparency – and implementing reforms for a green recovery are critical in paving the way to a robust and sustainable recovery.” Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank
COVID-19 has evolved from a pandemic of disease to a pandemic of inequality. It threatens to push millions more people into extreme poverty this year as the poor and vulnerable are the hardest hit by illness, job and income losses, school closures, and inequal access to vaccines. The crisis has affected almost every aspect of peoples’ lives, from societal norms to economies, with lower remittance flows, reduced trade, and sinking GDPs fueling a debt crisis. The Workshop served as a platform for dialogue and knowledge-sharing on how to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and capitalize on the once-in-a-lifetime chance to build back stronger, greener, and fairer.
“We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a solid foundation for a more inclusive economy, which is why we are calling on policy-makers to use the next round of fiscal stimulus to invest in a greener and more digital future” Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, IMF