Wednesday, Oct 23, 2024 | 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Location: Meeting Halls A&B HQ1-3-430A&B
OVERVIEW
Debt vulnerabilities remain elevated in many low-income countries and some emerging economies. While a systemic debt crisis has been avoided so far, and important progress on debt restructuring cases has been achieved, high debt servicing costs continue to be a challenge and risk limiting growth-critical investment. This seminar will explore potential options that could be made available to countries faced with liquidity challenges, including domestic reforms to boost growth and mobilize domestic resources, external financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners, and mobilization of private sector inflows at affordable cost, including potentially through a greater use of credit enhancements. It would aim to elicit a discussion on how these options could form a package to assist vulnerable countries in navigating current economic challenges, meeting financing needs, and building long-term resilience in an increasingly shock-prone global environment.
SPEAKERS
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu
Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, IMF
Ceyla Pazarbasioglu is the Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR) of the IMF. In this capacity, she leads the work on the IMF’s strategic direction and the design, implementation, and evaluation of Fund policies. She also oversees the IMF’s interactions with international bodies, such as the G20 and United Nations. Prior to her current position, Ms. Pazarbasioglu served at the World Bank Group (WBG) from 2015–2020, most recently as the Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions. She oversaw a portfolio of nearly $30 billion of operational and policy work and advisory engagements in the WBG Global Practices of Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation; Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment; Governance; and Poverty and Equity. She also had management responsibility for more than 2,200 staff in 138 countries, including 30 fragile and conflict-affected states. Ms. Pazarbasioglu also worked on policy and country issues during two previous tenures at the IMF (1992–1998 and 2003–2015). She served as Deputy Director in the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, in charge of the work on financial sector regulation and supervision and crisis management. She also worked as Assistant Director in the European Department and was the mission chief for Ukraine.
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Pablo Saavedra
Vice President, The World Bank Group
Pablo Saavedra is the World Bank’s Vice President for the Prosperity vertical. In this position, he leads the World Bank’s work on economic policy, poverty, finance, institutions, competition, and investment. A Bolivian national, he has served in several positions of responsibility across the World Bank. Until recently, he was the Chief of Staff of the World Bank Group. Prior to that, he served as the Country Director for Mexico, and earlier as the Practice Manager of the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment unit in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. He also worked as Economic Adviser at the Country Economics department of the Operational Policy and Country Services (OPCS) Vice Presidency and was the Operations Committee (OC) Secretary. He held several positions in the EFI unit of the Europe and Central Asia Region.
Isabelle Mateos y Lago
Chief Economist at BNP Paribas
Isabelle Mateos y Lago has over 25 years' experience in international economics, finance, and public policy. She is currently Chief Economist at BNP Paribas. She began her career in France at the Inspection Générale des Finances before joining the IMF, where she held key positions in the Asia, Europe and the Strategy, Policy, and Review departments, before serving as advisor to the Executive Board under Christine Lagarde until 2014. She joined BlackRock in 2015 and was Chief Macro Investment Strategist at the BlackRock Investment Institute and then Chief Markets Strategist in the Financial and Strategic Investors Group until 2024.
Carmen M. Reinhart
Professor of the International Financial System
Harvard Kennedy School
Carmen M. Reinhart is the Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System at Harvard Kennedy School. From 2020-2022 she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at The World Bank Group and was Chief Economist of Bear Stearns in the 1980s. She was Policy Advisor and Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund, a member of the Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Advisors, among others. Her work has helped to inform the understanding of financial crises in both advanced economies and emerging markets. Her best-selling book (with Kenneth S. Rogoff) entitled This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly documents the striking similarities of the recurring booms and busts that have characterized financial history. It has been translated to over 20 languages and won the Paul A. Samuelson Award. She is an elected member of the Group of Thirty and is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Adebayo Olawale Edun
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy
Honorable Minister Wale Edun has over four decades of experience at national and international levels in merchant banking, corporate finance, economics, and international finance. Former Head of Treasury at Chase Merchant Bank, Nigeria (1980-86), followed by positions at the World Bank, Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State (1999-2007). Post the Nigerian 2023 elections, Mr. Edun was one of the only two candidates nominated by the President-elect into the Presidential Transition Council. He has since been appointed Special Adviser to the President on Monetary Policy, a critical role that requires a deep understanding of economic principles, financial markets, and global trends.
