Watch: Spring Meetings 2021 recap

This year’s World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings focused on three central and interrelated themes: COVID-19, debt, and climate. More than a year into a pandemic that has devastated economies and industries, the discussions centered around a green and equitable recovery. “We’re focused on giving everyone a fair shot — a shot in the arm to bring the pandemic to an end and underpin recovery, and a fair shot at a better life for vulnerable people,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said last week. She called for international support, including from IMF, to ensure low-income countries aren’t left out of the recovery. Still, the gaps between high- and lower-income nations are growing on a variety of fronts, whether vaccine access, debt levels, or climate change. The Spring Meetings announced a number of initiatives to address some of those divergent paths. For example, World Bank shareholders expressed support for moving forward the International Development Association’s replenishment to December 2021 instead of next year after the fund spent a larger-than-anticipated share of its resources on the pandemic response. World Bank President David Malpass announced a climate action plan. IMF extended debt forgiveness and suspension initiatives, and it also secured support for a new $650 billion issuance of Special Drawing Rights. Devex Senior Reporters Michael Igoe and Adva Saldinger dug into those actions and discussed their potential impact in this Devex Pro Live event moderated by Senior Editor Tania Karas. Highlights from the discussion include: - How U.S. President Joe Biden’s new administration is approaching its relationship with the World Bank and IMF. - How World Bank President David Malpass, who served in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, is changing some of his views to be more aligned with the World Bank’s largest shareholders — particularly on climate change. - Some of the details of Malpass’s climate action plan, as well as the lingering questions around “co-benefits.” - What Devex reporters will be watching after the Spring Meetings.