US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates US will stay in the Bank and Fund, claiming “America First does not mean America alone,” as tariffs and rising debt vulnerabilities prompt gloomy forecast.
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IFI governance
Analysis
G20 press conference and media statement analysis Spring Meetings 2025: lack of Chair's statement yet more evidence of challenges to global consensus
The South African G20 Presidency failed to issue a communiqué and opted not to issue a Chair’s statement at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings as the US administration’s explicit hostility to multilateralism significantly decreases the potential for consensus across all multilateral fora.
IFI governance
Analysis
V20 communiqué analysis Spring Meetings 2025: amid attacks on climate action, climate vulnerable countries once again highlight urgent need to step back from the brink
Faced with deafening silence from Bank and Fund leadership on climate issues at the Spring Meetings, climate vulnerable countries demand urgent changes to global financial architecture.
IFI governance
Analysis
Spring Meetings 2025 Preamble: geopolitical turmoil further muddies path of BWI reform and multilateral cooperation
As the World Bank and IMF prepare for the 2025 Spring Meetings, the US executive order reviewing its participation in global institutions has heightened long-standing concerns about the direction of the Bretton Woods system – with civil society turning to FfD4 to reimagine the future of multilateralism.
Finance
Analysis
Civil society calls for FfD4 to revive 'spirit of Monterrey' and reassert UN's role in global economic governance
The role of Bretton Woods Institutions remains a key point of contention, amidst their stark governance deficits.
Finance
News
Private lenders’ resistance to Ethiopia's debt relief highlights urgent need for debt architecture reform
Ethiopia becomes the latest victim of the dysfunctional Common Framework, as private lenders continue to hold out on its debt restructuring with significant human rights, social and economic consequences.
Rights
News
UN Human Rights Council debt roundtable concludes debt crisis is a human rights crisis
UN Human Rights Council’s Seventh Intersessional Meeting calls for states to use FfD4 to agree reforms that enable states to deliver on their human rights obligations.
Environment
Analysis
COP29 sees MDBs climate finance take centre stage, as civil society brands new climate finance goal a ‘betrayal’
Rich countries agree to provide a paltry $300 billion in public finance by 2035 including funds channelled through MDBs, as Small Island States and Least Developed Countries stage walkout.
Other news
Finance
News
IDA21 cobbles together $100 billion replenishment in context of wider aid cuts
Amid concerns about the policy package and in the face of global crises, IDA's 21st replenishment showed difficulty of mobilising donor finance amid elections and geopolitical tensions.
Environment
News
Trump election may add pressure to reverse World Bank’s prohibition on support for nuclear power
Donald Trump’s election may result in a revision of World Bank’s long-standing prohibition of support to nuclear power.
Environment
News
World Bank makes developing countries wait on Loss and Damage Fund demands
Bank may not respond to asks until June, at the earliest, raising questions about timeline for fund’s operationalisation.
Finance
News
Significant IDA21 replenishment required as need for concessional finance grows
Rich countries need to agree to an ambitious IDA21 replenishment to address compounding economic and liquidity crises, causing high levels of debt distress in low-income countries.
Finance
News
Civil society urges governments to agree on a UN tax body as a high priority
African Group’s proposal for a UN Tax Convention moves forward as CSOs keep pressure on rich countries not to block it.
IFI governance
Background
African perspectives on the reforms of the international financial architecture
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum Session 'African perspectives on the reforms of the international financial architecture' on 11 October 2023.
Finance
News
A different ‘evolution roadmap’: Havana conference calls for changes in world order hierarchy
As IMF and World Bank tinker at margins, 50 policymakers, diplomats and academics from over 26 countries issue Havana Declaration calling for an assertion of Southern power and the building of a new "planetary bloc".
Finance
News
Chad gets debt rescheduling, not relief, and is left dependent on oil revenues
Chad has reached an agreement to restructure its nearly $3 billion of external debt, unlocking IMF financing, but the deal has been criticised for failing to reduce the country’s overall debt burden.
