Event preview: This week in development cooperation

The future of international development cooperation isn’t just hashed out in dusty field offices and ramshackle schools and hospitals, but also at a variety of events, celebrations and other gatherings. Here are some of the most noteworthy for the week starting Feb. 11:

U.S. President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address
Washington, D.C., United States
Feb. 12

Although he is expected to focus on domestic issues, Obama, like most of his predecessors, is expected to highlight the United States’ leading role on the global stage, particularly on issues related to climate change and the advancement of democracy. Members of the global development community will be watching. Here’s what five experts from the Center for Global Development hope Obama will say and why.

G-20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting
Moscow, Russia
Feb. 13

The implementation of the International Monetary Fund’s 2010 quota and governance reform tops the agenda of this meeting, which will bring together representatives of the G-20 finance ministries and central banks and experts from international financing institutions such as IMF, the World Bank and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

36th session of the International Fund for Agricultural Development governing council
Rome, Italy
Feb. 13-14

At this year’s annual meeting, Kanayo Nwanze seeks the votes of the council for a second term as president of IFAD. Overall, the conference will focus on the power of partnerships to boost agriculture in the developing world.  

Conference on Cooperation Among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development
Tokyo, Japan
Feb. 13-14

The goal: to support Palestinian state-building efforts and “discuss effective ways for cooperation” to promote stability and peace in the Middle East. Expected guests include Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and officials from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations, members of the League of Arab State and East Asian countries.

Informal meeting and first session of the Food Assistance Committee
London, United Kingdom
Feb. 14-15

The committee comprises all parties to the Food Assistance Convention and makes decisions in line with the provisions of the treaty. As per its rules of procedure, items for discussions include hunger and undernutrition and possible responses, party commitments and responses related to food needs, and lessons, best practices and applied research.

PPPAmericas
Cartagena, Colombia
Feb. 14-16

Organized by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund, the event promotes learning about public-private partnerships in infrastructure and basic services in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its goal is not only to disseminate best practices and lessons learned on forging PPPs but also to help build the capacity of key actors to effectively develop and manage partners. Representatives from development banks, consulting firms and nongovernmental organizations are expected to take part in the conference.

CLEAR Global Forum
Tunis, Tunisia
Feb. 16-20

The African Development Bank will host this event. The forum aims to improve the capacities of developing countries in monitoring and evaluation and performance management to support results- and evidence-based decision-making. This year, it will focus on strategy and planning as well as exchange practical learning on M&E and performance management.

Elections

• Trinidad and Tobago: presidential, Feb. 15
• Cyprus: presidential, Feb. 17
• Ecuador: legislative and presidential (first round), both Feb. 17

Know of an upcoming event that might be of interest to the international development community? Leave a comment below or email us at news@devex.com.

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