Remarks at the Development Committee Press Conference, IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Washington, D.C., October 11, 2014

Abstract

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, discusses the problem of global inequality. He speaks about the commitment for building the platform which would bring the expertise of not only the World Bank, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral development banks, to prepare projects and bridge the gap in what is a market failure. He speaks about the companies that were represented, sovereign wealth funds, the countries that had signed on, including China, which has made very strong commitments to finding a price on carbon for the world. He highlights about the need for some source of funding that will disperse immediately on the occasion of the next epidemic, and the global community needs to come together to decide what the response will be. Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, commended Kim on his efforts in the fight against Ebola. Lagarde noted that much of Africa is growing and creating jobs. The two fielded questions on Ebola, the role of China in these institutions, China’s investment-led growth strategy, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.