Finance Ministers addressed Small State Challenges at IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings

A Small States Forum on Thursday October 11th was once again expected to be a major feature of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group Annual Meetings taking place from October 10th to October 14th 2018 in Bali, Indonesia.

Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation and External Affairs, Honourable Allen M. Chastanet led a delegation which included Minister for Economic Development, Housing, Urban Renewal, Transport and Civil Aviation, Honourable Guy Joseph, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Finance Ms. Cointha Thomas and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Economic Development Mr. Phillip Dalsou.

The official Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group were preceded by a number of meetings with various country groupings including the Caribbean caucus, the Commonwealth Senior Officials and Ministers for Finance and the working group session of the V20, which is a grouping of the 20 most vulnerable countries to global climate change. One of the main purposes of the V20 grouping is to develop new and improved approaches to climate finance and to promote the mobilization of public and private climate finance. These measures are of immense importance to the Government of Saint Lucia; particularly given the focus all building resilience for Saint Lucia, as articulated by the Prime Minister in his 2018/2019 budget address.

Prime Minister Chastanet attended the Small States Forum Meeting on Thursday, a high level session that brought together Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from 50 small states to discuss the most pressing challenges faced by these states.

The official schedule of activities commenced on Friday October 12, 2018 with an IMF Board of Governors meeting which was attended by the Prime Minister. The IMF/ World Bank Annual Meetings are hosted by the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and IMF. Participants discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance along with other global issues. The meetings bring together Central Bank Governors and Ministers of Finance from 189 countries along with prominent persons from the private sector, academics, non-government organisations, and media. In total, it is expected that there will be approximately 15,000 participants.

The sessions continue today with a number of important meetings being attended by members of Saint Lucia’s delegation. Amongst the many topics up for discussion are some of the most pressing including climate financing and debt challenges; more specifically managing risks and improving debt management and transparency.

The mission trip will end with a V20 ministerial meeting on Sunday October 14, 2018; where a number of pressing issues will be discussed; accessing climate finance being one of the critical issues for discussion.