World Bank Events

World Bank activities in Belgium in 2006

Launch of the "Global Economic prospects 2007: Managing the Next Wave of Globalization" (Brussels; December 7, 2006)

The Global Economics Prospects is a yearly publication that reviews recent developments and prospects for the global economy. This year's report, titled "Managing the Next Wave of Globalization" hopes to contribute to the so-called globalization debate. The publication was presented by lead author and World Bank economic advisor Richard Newfarmer and commented by former EU Commissioner and former Belgian Minister of Finance, Willy De Clercq,  as well as by Director of the Royal Institute for International Relations, Prof. Rik Coolsaet.

Screening and discussion "Life or Death: Buying Time for Peace" in Brussels

November 29, 2006 - The Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) co-hosted at EurAc (European Network for Central Africa) a screening and discussion of a new documentary about efforts to demobilize and support the reintegration of almost 400,000 ex-combatants in Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. The MRDP is a multi-agency effort funded by Belgium, ten other donors and the World Bank, and involves dozens of partners, including various UN agencies. It is the largest program of its kind in the world. For more info on World Bank's contribution to demobilization and reintegration, click   here.

Policy dialogue on "Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier" in Brussels 

November 28, 2006 - The World Bank and the European Policy Centre held a Policy Dialogue on a recent World Bank publication entitled "Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier". The study provides, for the first time, a systematic empirical analysis on how the two emerging economic giants of Asia - China and India - stand as the leaders of African-Asian trade and investment. The publication also assesses the implications for Africa's economic growth and development. For more information on this publication, click   here.

Meeting between the President of the World Bank and Belgian Ministers in Brussels

November 15, 2006 - In the wake of the President of the World Bank’s visit to the European Development Days, P. Wolfowitz met with the Belgian Minister of Finance, D. Reynders, the Belgian Minister for Development Co-operation, A. De Decker, and the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, K. De Gucht. During this meeting, they discussed co-operation in the Great Lakes of Central Africa, as well as Belgium's leadership role in areas such as Migration and Governance. For more information on the President’s visit to the European Development Days, click   here.

UN High Level meeting on Migration and Development in New York  

September 14-15, 2006 - The Belgian Minister for Development Co-operation, A. De Decker, attended the High-Level Meeting on Migration and Development organized by the United Nations in New York, and had a meeting -in the margins of the event- with the World Bank on this topic. In his speech, he stressed that development policies should address the consequences of migration and that policy-makers should fight against the structural causes of migration. He highlighted the useful impact of migrants on the social and economic development of the countries of their origins. The dialogue between the World Bank and the Belgian authorities on Migration and Development is ongoing, especially in light of Belgium's decision to host the first Forum on this topic in July 2007 (see above). For more information on the World Bank's migration and development strategy, click   here.

African Diaspora Investment Forum

June 29-30, 2006 - African Axis, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Belgian-Luxembourg-ACP chamber of commerce, organized the first African Diaspora Investment Forum (DiaForum 2006). Organized under the patronage of the African Union and the ACP Group of ambassadors, this event served as a catalyst for investment and skills transfer to the continent by providing a platform for building partnerships between the African diaspora and other private and public stakeholders. For more information, click   here.

Central Africa: Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP)

June 1, 2006 - The World Bank, joined by Belgian governement and EC partners, hosted a press and NGO briefing on recent developments related to the MDRP Program. Launched in 2002, the Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) is a regional initiative that supports a comprehensive planning and financing framework for the demobilization and reintegration (D&R) of an estimated 400,000 regular and irregular combatants in countries involved in, or affected by, conflict in the greater Great Lakes Region of Africa. For more information on MDRP, click  here.

Global Development Finance 2006

May 31, 2006 - The National Bank of Belgium and the World Bank hosted the presentation of the World Bank's annual publication on Global Development Finance 2006. The 2006 report, entitled " The Development Potential of Surging Capital Flows", reveals that international private capital flows to developing and transition countries surged to reach a record high in 2005, partly driven by growing South-South flows. These flows coincided with economic growth in the developing world that was more than twice as fast as that in developed countries. The report notes that while the boost in flows offers opportunities to countries receiving them, many countries have not gained access to them, and still rely on development aid.

Clean Energy and Development

May 17, 2006 - Jamal Saghir of the World Bank, presented the World Bank paper on "Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework" . This paper takes a global perspective on three interlocking and complementary issues: (i) addressing developing country energy needs and access to energy services; (ii) efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions; and (iii) helping developing countries adapt to climate risks. These three issues are critical to the World Bank’s core mission of poverty reduction and the realization of many of the Millennium Development Goals, and build upon existing World Bank strategies.

Annual Spring Meetings in Washington

May 17, 2006 - The Belgian Minister for Development Co-operation, A. De Decker, and the Belgian Minister of Finance, D. Reynders, participated in the Annual Spring Meetings. During their visit, both Ministers had various bilaterals, focusing in particular on assistance for the Palestinian people and the situation in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as on the importance of good governance and the need to tackle corruption. In addition, Minister De Decker held a trilateral meeting with the Burundian Minister of Finance and representatives of the World Bank in the context of an anti-corruption program initiated by Belgium and the World Bank. 

Meeting and Public Debate on Youth, Development and Peace (YDP) Network

April 4, 2006 - The World Bank and youth organisations presented and discussed the development of the YDP network, looking at the opportunities and challenges it faces. This meeting was followed by a public discussion. 

International Migration and Development

March 15-16, 2006 - The World Bank organized in close cooperation with the Government of Belgium, the International Organization for Migration and the European Commission, a  Conference on Migration and Development in Brussels. For more information on the conference program and conclusions, please visit the  conference website. Prior to the conference, the World Bank hosted consultations with bilateral donors and multilateral actors involved in migration and development, to focus on: (i) setting priorities, exploring reasons and ways to coordinate respective policy agendas; (ii) identifying common focus areas, inviting all donor agencies to provide input on their respective priorities. For more World Bank resources on International Migration and Development, click here.

World Bank activities in Belgium in 2005 

Education sector and SWAps

December 19-21, 2005 - The Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC) organized 3-day seminar on the Education sector consisting of presentations and exchanges between Belgian, African and international staff working in the education sector, with a view to: (i) Sharing the experiences and assessing the results of Belgian contributions to the development of the education sector in its partner countries; (ii) Gaining an insight in the method to use to link education projects and education SWAps. Rachidi Radji, Education Economist at the World Bank, talked about the role of the World Bank in the context of the Education for All Initiative and financial and human resources. For more on the Belgian Technical Cooperation,  click here.

Global Economic Prospects 2006: Economic Implications of Migration and Remittances

November 15, 2005 - Uri Dadush, Director of Development Prospects Group and Andrew Burns, Senior Economist at the World Bank presented the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects 2006 which examines measures that could be taken by governments to improve the impact of migration and remittances on the reduction of poverty. Prof Johan Wets, Senior Researcher of University of Leuven participated as a panellist to this event, sponsored by the World Savings Banks Institute in Brussels.

Remittances from almost 200 million migrants to their home counties are likely to reach $US 225 million in 2005. This figure will exceed all official development assistance, as well as gains from full merchandise trade liberalization for developing countries. While studies point to many positive aspects of migration and remittances on poverty reduction, it is clear that the massive drain of skills from certain countries poses a serious challenge to their development efforts. According to most forecasts large-scale international migration is likely to continue in the years to come. The major question will be how to ensure that it has a positive developmental impact.

Doing Business in 2006

October 6, 2005 - Michael Klein, Vice-President for Private Sector Development, presented the report "Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs" published by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. The event sponsored by the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) was introduced by Hans Martens, Chief Executive, European Policy Centre. Marcel Canoy, Economic Adviser, Bureau of European Policy Advisers at the European Commission commented on the report.

Doing Business in 2006 is the third in a series of annual reports The report identifies specific regulations that enhance or constrain investment productivity and growth while introducing indicators that are comparable across 155 countries. Similarly to previous reports, this year's report includes the list of the top reformers as well as the full country ranking index on the issue of ease of doing business. Full overview available on line: http://www.doingbusiness.org/

Investment Opportunities in India - A roundtable discussion with Belgian Firms

October 4, 2005 - A seminar was organized by the Flanders Investment & Trade Association, with the participation of Michael Carter (World Bank Country Director in India), Fayez Omar (World Bank Senior Manager for India) and John Roome (World Bank Operations Director for the South Asia Region). This was a well attended meeting with members of the Flemish and Brussels business and trade association. They were interested primarily in the Indian economy and business opportunities in the region - with some emphasis on how to get more World Bank financed contracts. More information on the World Bank in India at: http://www.worldbank.org/in

Contact: Johan Malin, PSLO for Belgium
E-mail: johan.malin@fitagency.be

Presentation at the Belgian Technical Cooperation's Infocycli

June 17, 2005 - Franz H. Kaps, World Bank Special Representative for South East Europe, presented the World Bank activities in Europe and Central Asia to trainees of the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC). The BTC has been mandated by the Belgian government to provide training on development issues to Belgian nationals intending to work for multilateral or bilateral development agencies as well as for NGO's. See presentation.(pdf, 331 KB)

From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Global Dialog on the Mobilization of Diasporas

June 14, 2005 - The World Bank Institute organized a Global Dialog on the Mobilization of Highly Skilled Diaspora linking experts and actors from various countries (Chile, Scotland, Ghana, etc…). This dialog was designed as a video-conference linking Washington, Brussels and Paris. The objective of this Global Dialogue was to understand factors behind the success of several initiatives that have worked well, in view of informing the design of new initiatives. The focus of the event was on 'how to' details of programs and initiatives of mobilization of Diaspora of highly skilled in the context of low and middle-income countries. See full report here.

Debt Relief

June 14, 2005 - Mr. Vikram Nehru, World Bank Director of the Debt Department visited Brussels for an exchange of view on furthering debt relief with several Belgian and EU partners. Mr. Nehru was notably invited to make a presentation to the Globalization Committee of the Belgian Senate were he met with parliamentarians as well as with academics and NGO's representatives. During his visit to Brussels, Mr. Nehru also made a video recorded interview on Debt relief available here.

Remittances and Development

May 27, 2005 - Romeo Matsas (World Bank) made a presentation on the role of remittances in development in a conference organized by OCIV-Migration et Développement (Bruxelles) and PS-Eau / Programme Migrations et Initiatives Economiques (Paris).

Global Monitoring Report on Achieving MDG's.

May 26, 2005 World Bank Mr. Mohammad Zia M. Qureshi was present in Brussels to present the "Global Monitoring Report" onachieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In a public event organized by The Center, Mr. Qureshi discussed measures required for achieving the international agreed goals on fighting poverty with representatives from the European Commission, the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and civil society. To read full report, click here.

Africa: Open for Business - A Documentary

May 25, 2005 - The World Bank and the Center organized a screening of Africa: Open for Business, with Carol Pineau, director and producer. the one-hour documentary,which offers ten portraits of African entrepreneurs and private investors as they tell in their own words how they overcame tremendous challenges to succeed in this unusual business climate. Covering ten countries on a "tour of the continent," the film features businesses large and small from a mix of industries. For more information or to view the six-minute trailer, visit www.africaopenforbusiness.com.

Health & MDG's in Africa

May 21, 2005 - Mrs. Haleh Bridi, World Bank Special Representative to the European Union, made a presentation on MDG's in Africa at a conference organized by Cap Santé, an NGO led by African diaspora representatives in Belgium active in the health sector. See presentation (in French, pdf 150 KB)

HRH Prince Philip of Belgium and Princess Mathilde of Belgium in Washington

April 19-20, 2005 - Belgian Crown Prince HRH Philip of Belgium and Princess Mathilde of Belgium, accompanied by Belgian Minister for Development Armand De Decker, visited World Bank Headquarters in Washington. During their visit, they met with World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn and several heads of departments of the World Bank to address development issues related to Belgian priorities, notably in the area of Health, Education and Private Sector Development. They also met with all Belgian nationals working at the IMF/World Bank at a reception hosted by the Belgian Executive Directors of respective institutions.

Labour Migration Strategy

April 12, 2005 - Mr. Robert Holzman, World Bank Director for Social Protection, met with Belgian academics during an event hosted by the King Baudouin Foundation. The purpose of this meeting was to consult with Belgian experts on a labor market research strategy that the World Bank is developing to strengthen the knowledge base needed to underpin its activities in the labor market area.

Launch of the Global Development Finance 2005

April 4, 2005 - The GDF 2005 "Mobilizing Finance and Managing Vulnerability" was launched during an event hosted by the World Savings Bank Institute. The Report embraces three key challenges: i) Managing the vulnerability inherent in global economic and financial imbalances; ii) Confronting the risks posed by the growing market sensitivity of developing-country debt ; iii) Mobilizing and diversifying sources of finance for low-income countries. To see full text, click here.

Youth Open House

March 21, 2005 - The World Bank Brussels Office held a Youth Open Day welcoming young people representing 15 organizations to its offices. Participants included European and international youth organisation networks based in Belgium and the Netherlands, Belgian youth organisations, youth wings of Belgian political parties and students from Europe and Africa. On the same day, more than 60 World Bank Country Offices, as well as the Washingotn offices, held Youth Open Houses. This coincided with the launch of the YDP Network. To find out more about the YDP Network and the Youth Open House, please visit http://www.ydpnetwork.org/aboutus.php

The Millennium Development Goals: A Global Agenda

March 18, 2005 - Mr. Brian Ngo, World Bank Lead Economist, made a presentation on The Millennium Development Goals: A Global Agenda during a seminar organized by IRRI, the Belgian Royal institute for International Relations. Participants to the meetings were senior officials working on development cooperation, professors/researchers in development, and civil society representatives. See presentation (pdf, 352 KB).

Managing Remittances

February 26, 2005 - Mrs. Haleh Bridi, World Bank Special Representative to the European Union, made a presentation on Consequences of Labour migration for Developing Countries : Management of Remittances in a Seminar organized at the Flemish Parliament. See presentation (pdf, 150 KB).

World Bank activities in Belgium in 2004 

November 17, 2004 : Presentation of "Doing Business 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth"

The Chamber of Commerce Belgium-Luxembourg-Africa-Caibbean-Pacific hosted a presentation by Mr. Michael Klein,World Bank Vice-President for Private Sector Development and IFC Vice-President/Chief Economist on Doing Business in 2005.

The report is the second in a series of annual reports investigating the scope and manner of regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. New quantitative indicators on business regulations and their enforcement can be compared across 145 countries—from Albania to Zimbabwe—and over time. The indicators are used to analyze economic and social outcomes, such as productivity, investment, informality, corruption, unemployment, and poverty, and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. For more. DoingBusiness2005.ppt

Presentation of the Global Economic Prospects 2005 
November 17, 2004 - In collaboration with the National Bank of Belgium, the World Bank organised a meeting to launch the 2005 edition of its report - Global Economic Prospects. This year's edition titled Trade, Regionalism and Development addresses the key questionsof whether regional trade agreements promote or hinder development in developing countries, and whether the proliferation of these agreements pose risks to the multilateral trading system? For more information, click here.

“Securing The 21^st Century”, A Public Session With World Bank President J. D. Wolfensohn at Palais d’Egmont.

October 20, 2004 - The Belgian Royal Institute for International Relations (IRRI-KIIB), the World Bank and the European Policy Centre welcomed James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, who presented his views on “Securing the 21st Century”.AmbassadorJan Grauls, Vice-President of the Royal Institute for International Relations introduced the speaker. A question and answer session, moderated by EPC Director of Studies, Fraser Cameron, followed the presentation.

Presentation of the World Development Report 2005 : "A better investment climate for everyone” 

October 13, 2004 - Warrick Smith, Lead Author of the Report presented his team’s findings at EXPORT Vlaanderen in presence of Flemish firms.    For more information, click  here

Dialogue Day on the Role of African Diaspora in Development
May 9, 2004 - The World Bank and the Belgian government, in partnership with organizations of the African Diaspora, organized the “Dialogue Day on Africa and Development : the Role of Diasporas in the Development of Sub-Saharan Africa” at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren. Key speakers were Mr. Marc Verwilghen, Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation, Mr. Louis Michel, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. A. A. Sow Senegal Minister to NEPAD, Mr. Manolo Abela, Director of the ILO program on International Migrations. A Full report of the proceedings available English (Proceedings.pdf - 493 KB) and French (Actes.pdf- 493 KB).

Visit of World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn. May 11, 2004 - Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, was present in Brussels to meet with European Union High Officials to further the strategic collaboration between both Institutions. Mr. Wolfensohn also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Guy Verhofstadt, Prime Minister of Belgium, as well as Mr. Marc Verwilghen, Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation. Mr. Wolfensohn also addressed the closing session of the ABCDE 2004 Conference.

ABCDE Europe 2004: "Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg: Are We on Track?"
May 10-11, 2004 - The 2004 edition of the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics- Europe was held in Brussels. The ABCDE-Europe has been designed to expand the flow of ideas between thinkers, practitioners and policy-makers within the field of international development, and to provide a forum for discussion on key international development issues. See on line full report of the ABCDE 2004 Conference.

World Bank Special Representative to the EU, Mrs. Haleh Bridi, addressed Belgian Technical Cooperation Trainees.

February 20, 2004 - Mrs Haleh Bridi, World Bank Special Representative to the European Union, was invited to present the World Bank activities to trainees of the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC). The BTC is the Belgian Cooperation implementing agency. It has been mandated by the Belgian government to provide training on development issues to Belgian nationals intending to work for multilateral or bilateral development agencies as well as for NGO’s.

Mr. Vikhram Nehru, World Bank Manager of the HIPC Program, visited Brussels to meet with Belgian and EU NGO’s
February 20, 2004 - Mr. Vikhram Nehru, Manager of the World Bank HIPC program was in Brussels to meet with European and Belgian interlocutors involved in Debt issues. During his visit, Mr. Nehru had notably the opportunity to participate in a meeting hosted by EURODAD with a group of NGO’s and to give a presentation at the Belgian Technical Cooperation office. Mr. Nehru has posted a draft concept note on Debt sustainability on the HIPC website  which is open for discussion and comments.

World Bank Chief Economist for Middle East and North Africa, Mr, Mustapha Nabli, in Brussels to present four Development Reports on the MENA region
February 16, 2004 - Mr, Mustapha Nabli, World Bank Chief Economist for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) visited Brussels to present the four Development Reports the World Bank has released on Governance, Gender, Employment, Trade and Investment in the MENA region. The presentation was held at the Belgian Conseil Central de l’Economie and was attended by approximately 100 participants. Discussant panelists were Mrs. Fauzaya Talhaoui, Mrs. Sabine Missistrano, Prof. Ali Bayar and Mr. Betin Martens. More info on the four WB Development Reports on the MENA region, click here.

World Bank Institute’s Director, Mr. Daniel Kaufman, present new data on world corruption
January 26, 2004- Mr. Daniel Kaufman, Director of the World Bank Institute, visited Brussels to raise awareness on the global fight against corruption in world development and improving the situation of the poorest. Speaking to a Belgian newspaper, Mr. Kaufman declared : "We estimate that every year, 1 trillion dollars has to do with corruption. This is one thousand billion dollars and 3% of the world GDP." More information on the World Bank activities on anticorruption, click here.

World Bank Vice President for Human Development, Mr. Jean Louis Sarbib, in Belgium to meet with NGO’s and the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine
January 12, 2004 – Mr. Jean Louis Sarbib, World Bank Vice President for Human Development, visited Belgium to meet with NGO’s active in Health and Education sectors to discuss progress in implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
Mr. Sarbib also met with representatives of the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine to discuss respective strategies in the fight against HIV/ AIDS.

World Bank activities in Belgium in 2003

Russia's Economic and Social Development Challenges
November 18, 2003 - During his visit to Brussel, Mr. Julian Schweitzer, World Bank Country Director for Russia, gave a lecture at the College of Europe in Bruges, on "Russia's Economic and Social Development Challenges" The lecture was attended by around 60 students who had the opportunity to ask a large range of questions on the Bank's activities in Russia.

Visit of Mrs Frannie Leautier, World Bank Vice President in charge of the World Bank Institute (WBI)
November 5-6, 2003 – During her visit in Brussels, Mrs. Frannie Leautier, head of the World Bank Institute, met with representatives of the Belgian Academic world (Commission Universitaire pour le Developpement and Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad) and had the opportunity to discuss with students from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Facultes Universitaires Saint Louis (FUSL) various topics related to the Institute’s activities. For more information on the WBI,click here.

Mr. Eric Chinje, World Bank Senior Communications Officer for Africa
October 22, 2003 - Mr Chinje gave a lecture on ‘Communicating Development Challenges’ at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

World Bank BioCarbon Fund Coordinator, Mr. Benoit Bosquet addressed a Conference of the Federation of the Enterprises in Belgium (FEB)
October 10, 2003 - Mr. Benoit Bosquet, Coordinator of the World Bank Bio- Carbon Fund was present in Brussels to address a Conference organized by the FEB on the role of the private sector in Climate Change. For more information on the World Bank’s Bio- Carbon Fund and other similar initiatives, please click here.

Trade, Development and Poverty Reduction in the post- Cancun era
September 30, 2003 - Messr. Gobind Nankani, World Bank Vice President on Poverty Reduction Management, and Uri Dadush, Director of the Trade Department, were present in Brussels to discuss the consequences of the Cancun Summit on multilateral trade negotiation. On this occasion they met with students of the Facultes Notre Dame de la Paix de Namur to exchanges views on the role of Trade in Development and on the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Strategies.

Launch of the World Development Report 2004
September 15, 2003. Mr. Shanta Devarajan and Mrs. Ritva Reinikka presented in Brussels the World Development Report 2004 "Making Services work for Poor People".

Global Economic Prospect 2004
September 2, 2003 - Messr. Hans Timmer and Uri Dadush from the World Bank Department on Trade were in Brussels to officially launch the Global Economic Prospect 2004 "Realizing the Development Promises of the Doha Agenda" The event was held at the World Custom Organization's Headquarters.

Visit of World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn
May 19th, 2003 - Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, was present in Brussels to meet with European Union High Officials to further the strategic collaboration between both Institutions. Mr. Wolfensohn met with EU-25 Development Ministers, Commissioner Patten (External Relations), Commissioner Nielsen (Development), Secretary General of the Council and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana and was invited to address and exchange views at the European Parliament's Development and Cooperation Committee.

Global Economic Finance 2003
April 3, 2003 - Messr. Hans Timmer and Uri Dadush from the World Bank Department on Trade were in Brussels to officially launch the Global Development Finance 2003 "Striving for Stability in Development Finance" The event was held at the National Bank of Belgium.