The Development Committee (DC) is a forum of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that facilitates intergovernmental consensus-building on development issues. Known formally as the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries, the Committee was established in 1974.
The Committee's mandate is to advise the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on critical development issues and on the financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries. Over the years, the Committee has interpreted this mandate to include trade and global environmental issues in addition to traditional development matters.
The Committee has 24 members, usually Ministers of Finance or Development, and who represent the full membership of the Bank and Fund. They are appointed by each of the countries, or groups of countries, represented on the Boards of Executive Directors of the Bank and Fund. The Chairman is selected from among the Committee's members and is assisted by an Executive Secretary elected by the Committee. The current Chairman is Minister Agustin Carstens, Minister of Finance, Mexico. The current Executive Secretary is Kiyoshi Kodera.
The Development Committee meets twice a year; in the spring in tandem with the International Monetary and Financial Committee, and in the fall before the Bank-Fund Annual Meetings. The agenda for the meetings is based on issues recommended by the Chairman, the President of the Bank, the Managing Director of the Fund, and the Executive Boards of the Bank and Fund. Given the Committee's focus, the President of the Bank has a special responsibility to propose topics that he believes require the attention of the ministers. |
