Belgium

Welcome to the website of the World Bank in Belgium, aimed to facilitate relations between the World Bank and its stakeholders in global development, including government officials, parliamentarians, academics and members of think tanks, NGO representatives, business leaders and journalists.

Recent Events

The first Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) has ended in Brussels on June 23-24, 2008, with a total jury award of close to a million dollars for sixteen investment projects in Africa. The winning projects will be implemented in 11 African countries, including Mali (4), Cote d'Ivoire (2) Benin (2) and one each for Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Togo. For more, click here.

The World Bank's Concept and Issues Paper: Towards a Strategic Framework on Climate Change and Development for The World Bank Group was presented by Michele de Nevers, World Bank Senior Manager - Environment Department, and discussed at a consultation with the Government of Belgium on May 29, 2008. Discussions addressed the question of financing needs, partnerships (modalities, structures), additionality etc. Visit the global consultations site here.

The Belgian government hosted a conference "Climate Change, a new Challenge for Development Cooperation?" in Brussels, 7 March 2008.

Patricia Bliss-Guest, Lead Partnership Specialist, Sustainable Development Network, represented the World Bank addressing the question of Challenges for a more climate sensitive development cooperation. For more, see here.

The World Bank/IFC presented the Doing Business 2008 report on December 13, 2007 in Brussels. For further information please contact infobrussels@worldbank.org .

Doing Business 2008 compares indicators on business regulations and their enforcement across 178 countries—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Published annually, Doing Business reports analyze government regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it, ranking countries on their ease of doing business. Top reformers, including several Eastern European countries, are identified and best practices in how to reform are highlighted. This year’s report, the fifth to be published in the series, presents a new analysis of 50 regulatory reform case studies. For more: www.doingbusiness.org

The World Bank launched the "World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development" in Brussels on December 11, 2007. For more information, please contact infobrussels@worldbank.org.

The World Bank and its partners launched the Development Marketplace for African Diaspora in Europe (D-MADE) Grant Competition (Brussels; September 17, 2007)

Entitled "Promoting Diaspora Investment Projects and Innovative Entrepreneurial Activities in Africa", the competition seeks innovative project ideas from entrepreneurial African diaspora in Europe that generate employment, business support, training and incomes for the poor and disadvantaged. More details at: www.dmade.org. Proposal Deadline was: 4.00 p.m. Brussels time, 23 November 2007.

Gobal Forum on Migration and Development (Brussels; July 9-11, 2007) 

The World Bank actively participated in the first meeting of the "Global Forum on Migration and Development" on July 9-11, 2007, which Belgium volunteered to host. This Forum served as an informal intergovernmental consultative body to distill possible options for international co-operation on migration. The Forum looked into ways, among others, to facilitate remittances, engage diasporas, integrate migration into poverty reduction strategies. The Bank is currently sharing its expertise on these issues, in particular on remittances. For more info on World Bank resources on remittances, click here. 

The Belgian government organized an "International Conference on Good Governance", with close involvement of the World Bank on March 14-15, 2007. The World Bank collaborated in the preparation and design of the conference. For more information on the World Bank's strategies on good governance and anti-corruption, click here. 

International Conference on Forestry in DRC (Brussels; February 26-27, 2007)

On February 26-27, 2007 the Belgian Development Co-operation organized an “International Conference on Forestry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)”. The World Bank Africa region is closely involved in the elaboration of the program and is expected to participate. For more info on the World Bank's support to sustainable management of forests in DRC, click here.

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.