Spring Meetings 2003 (Bretton Woods Project)

Independent, reliable analysis from a civil society perspective of the issues raised before, during and after the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, April 12-13, Washington DC.

Results, governance and trade: what's new from Spring Meetings 2003?

A critical look at some of the key outcomes of the meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee.

Missing link or weakest link?

Report on a two-day workshop, organised by the IMF, on "Macroeconomic analytical issues in taking the PRSP approach forward".

Gender and the World Bank: climbing the Himalayas ?

Women rights advocates met in Washington DC on April 10 to discuss ways to promote gender equality at the World Bank. Despite some progress in recent years the World Bank still has a long way to go.

IEO on prolonged use, crises and PRSP

Report from a meeting between the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office and civil society.

Meeting highlights

International Monetary and Financial Committee

On Iraq: World Bank and IMF to play "normal role".

On governance: a report by the Fund Board to the IMFC on the "adequacy of IMF resources, the distribution of quotas and the strengthening of Fund governance" is to be prepared for next meeting.

On the economy: call for advanced economies to create conditions for growth, while emerging and developing countries should continue with policies favouring stability.

On trade: call for progress on the WTO's Doha trade round.

On crisis prevention: support for IMF's work on codes & standards and surveillance; thumbs down to a UK proposal to split the surveillance and lending functions of the IMF; support voluntary adoption of collective action clauses in developing country bond issues; "not feasible to move forward" on the sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM).

On debt: call for reports on debt sustainability for HIPC countries reaching the 'completion point' and the UK's International Financing Facility (IFF) proposal at Annual Meetings.

Development Committee

On governance: support further capacity building; requested the Boards of the Bank and Fund to "elaborate upon options [to achieve enhanced participation] with a potential for broad support" by Annual Meetings.

On aid: call for "swift progress" in implementing the results agenda and the Rome declaration on donor harmonization.

On MDGs: urge WB/IMF to work closely with other agencies in monitoring policies towards the MDGs and continued improvement/transparency in Bank's Country Policy Institutional Assessments.

On services: More needs to be done on the Education for All fast track initiative; welcome Bank's water strategy and ask Bank to consider how to implement recommendations of the Camdessus panel on financing water infrastructure.

On trade: urge progress on WTO Doha trade round; "emphasize the importance of trade facilitation and liberalization efforts in developing countries"; urge that Country Assistance Strategies include trade-enhancing lending operations and capacity building.