10. Speeches of World Bank Presidents [collection under construction]

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Remarks at the IDA20 Replenishment Meeting

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12-15) Malpass, David

World Bank Group President David Malpass noted that Japan is now one of the largest contributors to IDA, a key partner in achieving development results at the global, regional, and country level. He mentioned that for more than 60 years, IDA has provided concessional development financing totaling more than US$458 billion to 114 countries to boost economic growth, reduce poverty and inequality, and improve people’s living conditions.  He highlighted that the World Bank’s crisis response to COVID-19 has been the largest in its history, and IDA responded with speed and scale to the unprecedented economic and health crises and committed US$56.9 billion between April 2020 and November 2021.  He expressed his appreciation to the IDA Borrower Representatives who have consistently offered their advice, providing a country lens on how the support can best be tailored to meet the needs and priorities of IDA countries. He spoke about the generous pledges that are matched by the most ambitious IDA policy package. He concluded by saying that cross-cutting issues are the foundational building blocks of this policy framework. These include crisis preparedness, which was introduced in IDA20 to build resilience in a world of more frequent crises with compounded effects, as well as ongoing emphasis on governance and institutions, debt sustainability, and digital infrastructure and interventions to foster economic and social inclusion.
Avoiding a Lost Decade in Latin America and the Caribbean

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-23) Malpass, David

World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed his work on development and the unique challenges facing Latin America during his 1984 trips to Honduras and Guatemala for the United States government. In addition to per capita gross domestic product, the World Bank recognizes the importance of non-economic measures of prosperity including access to electricity, clean water, health, education, and nutrition; environmental protection, biodiversity and resilience to climate change; and connectivity to people, information, and financial services. As shown in the recent report, Renewing with Growth, some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have strong capabilities in this area. For long-term growth, LAC needs a supportive business environment that is conducive for entrepreneurship. In many countries, it is important to address distortions induced by state ownership. Foreign direct investment can play a big role in improving competition and productivity. The LAC region has a great opportunity post pandemic to expand trade through more dynamic global value chains.
World Bank Group Press Conference at the 2021 Spring Meetings, April 7, 2021

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-07) Malpass, David

David Malpass, President of the World Bank, discussed vaccines, climate, and debt. The World Bank commitments grew a record amount both in percent terms and dollar terms in 2020. The Bank is providing financing for several of the countries and they can be large-scale programs, but the countries are working to arrange delivery schedules from the various vaccine providers. That will be an important part of the recovery. The Bank completed a big vaccination operation through Board, which makes financing available to Bangladesh and also technical assistance from the World Bank, which is very helpful to the countries as they try to enter contract discussions, and also as they work within their health systems in order to vaccinate people. The Bank is working actively on biodiversity and agricultural challenges facing Brazil.
Remarks at the Human Capital Conclave

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-05) Malpass, David

David Malpass, President of the World Bank, discussed the importance of investing in human capital for a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the Coronavirus disease crisis. He highlighted three important measures: 1) investing in people; 2) efficient expenditures and good governance; and 3) freeing up fiscal space.
Building a Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Recovery

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-03-29) Malpass, David

World Bank Group President David Malpass acknowledged the importance of the United Kingdom within the World Bank Group. He spoke about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) which descended on the poor like wildfire. He highlighted the Bank's approach to the interlinked crises of green, resilient, inclusive development (GRID). The World Bank is working to help countries build “Country Platforms” to engage with wider groups of development actors as they develop the programs with Bank support. He focused on three of the most pressing challenges of climate, debt, and inequality. There is a need for integrated, long-run strategies that emphasize green, resilient, and inclusive development. He concluded we can generate a recovery that ensures a broad and lasting rise in prosperity especially for the poorest and most marginalized.
Reversing the Inequality Pandemic

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-05) Malpass, David

World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has already changed our world decisively and forced upon the world a painful transformation. He explained the World Bank Group’s approach that has been comprehensive by focusing on saving lives, protecting the poor and vulnerable, ensuring sustainable business growth, and rebuilding in better ways. He focused on four urgent aspects of this work: (i) first, the need to redouble efforts to alleviate poverty and inequality; (ii) second, the associated loss of human capital and what must be done to restore it; (iii) third, the urgent need to help the poorest countries make their government debt more transparent and permanently reduce their debt burdens, two necessary steps to attract effective investment; and (iv) finally, how we can cooperate to facilitate the changes needed for an inclusive and resilient recovery.
Opening Remarks During the Media Call on the Analytical Chapters of the June 2020 Global Economic Prospects Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06-02) Malpass, David

These opening remarks were delivered by World Bank Group President David Malpass during the media call on the analytical chapters of the June 2020 global economic prospects report on June 2, 2020. He covered about Bank's support activities, the debt service moratorium for the poorest countries, the progress on debt transparency and some of the next steps. He spoke about how the World Bank Group resources are being scaled up dramatically, providing strong net positive flows, especially to the poorest countries. He highlighted on IDA and IBRD working with countries to expand the coverage of social safety net programs, IFC providing finances to the private sector in developing countries over fifteen months, and MIGA helping to provide a more stable environment for investment by mitigating and managing risks arising from uncertainty. He described the debt moratorium that the World Bank and IMF championed, where the Debt service payments by all official bilateral creditors were suspended on May 1, adding to the potential resources for the poorest countries. He stated that an important part of this initiative is to help governments in debtor countries increase the transparency of their debt and investment practices and disclose the amounts and terms of their debt. He spoke about the Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report which finds a deep global recession, accompanied by a collapse in global trade, tourism and commodity prices and extraordinary market volatility. He said that beyond coping with the immediate crisis to limit the harm, policymakers can make a robust recovery more likely by maintaining private sector systems and infrastructure and allowing markets to allocate resources toward productive activities. He stated that most of the export restrictions that were announced earlier this year have not been implemented and global food prices have mostly remained stable. He highlighted on the important advances that are being made in digital connectivity in developing economies. He concluded by saying that the World Bank Group will continue to take broad, fast action in our response to the needs of people in developing countries.
Remarks at High-Level Event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-05-28) Malpass, David

David Malpass, World Bank Group President, spoke at the United Nations high-level event on financing for development in the era of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Beyond. He spoke about two institutions, the IMF and World Bank working closely together on financial and economic challenges, including and especially those affecting the world’s poor. He highlighted on the announcement of milestone by IMF and World Bank Group that emergency health operations approved and up and running in over hundred developing countries. He described the new support programs that, in following weeks, will help developing countries overcome the pandemic and reclaim focus on growth and sustainable development. He invited the participants of the UN event to join the efforts with additional financing. He strongly welcomed the prompt support of the G20 countries for a suspension of debt service by all official bilateral creditors, which included G20 endorsement for comparable treatment by commercial creditors. He said that the World Bank Group is supporting countries that are participating in the moratorium. He welcomed President Xi Jinping’s recent commitment to China’s full participation in the debt moratorium. He invited commercial creditors to agree on terms of reference to encourage their participation, especially given the focus of the initiative on debt relief for the IDA countries, the world’s poorest. He mentioned that the UN’s call for Multilateral Development Bank debt suspension would be harmful to the world’s poorest countries. He spoke about the recent mischaracterizations by parts of the UN regarding the World Bank Group’s involvement as an observer to Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan’s negotiations regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. He concluded by saying that the World Bank Group now has available COVID-19 financing programs in over one hundred developing countries, and invited use of those pathways to expand the financing of the health emergency and expand the response so that we can meet the full brunt of the crisis in the world’s poorest countries.
Opening Remarks at the 2019 Annual Meetings Opening Press Conference

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10-17) Malpass, David

David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, highlighted the urgent priorities for discussion with shareholders. Global growth is slowing. Investment is sluggish, manufacturing activity is soft, and trade is weakening. The challenges of climate change and fragility are making poor countries more vulnerable. This backdrop makes our goals of reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity even harder. He suggested that with the right mix of policies and structural reforms, countries can unleash growth that's broadly shared across all segments of society. He spoke about how the Bank is helping countries build strong programs tailored to the unique circumstances of their economies. He highlighted the importance of education. He mentioned the proposed IDA replenishment, and reaffirmed commitment to projects on climate and on gender inclusion. In conclusion, he said that the well-designed structural reforms are needed to unlock growth and build the foundations for future prosperity.
Driving Growth from the Ground Up

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10-07) Malpass, David

David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, spoke about the urgency of growth in developing countries. He discussed innovations in digital financial services that provide secure systems to allow poor people to electronically receive remittances, foreign aid, and social safety-net payments as well as their earnings. He cautioned about the slow global growth, and it's paramount that countries carry out well-designed structural reforms to ignite domestic growth. He highlighted on the importance of a clear analysis and understanding of a country's laws and regulations and a path of reforms or catalytic investments that will expand the private sector. Finally, he concluded by saying that World Bank Group won’t give up on its main goal of reducing extreme poverty.