In a historic first attendance of a UN Secretary General to official meetings of the World Bank and the IMF,  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed with finance ministers and heads of development banks the need for a “transformational vision that combines all potential sources of financing,” according to a communiqué released by the World Bank Development Committee.

Opening a World Bank panel discussion on “Changing the Conversation on Development Finance,” Ban declared that financing will be key for the creation and unveiling of an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, as he stressed that 2015 marked a time of global action for people and the planet.

Watch the full event at the World Bank website.

 

During their visit to Washington, Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General of DESA and Secretary-General of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, also participated in a seminar hosted by the International Monetary Fund on 17 April, on “Financing for Development: The Way Forward.”

Together with Mr. Bertrand Bardre (Chief Financial Officer at the World Bank), Dr. Abraham Tekeste (Minister of Finance of Ethiopia), Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat (Minister of Finance of Nepal), and Prof. Jeffrey Sachs (The Earth Institute, Columbia University), they discussed the key issues for sustainably financing development goals, and expectations for the Third Conference on Financing for Development (13-16 July, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia).

Watch the seminar at the IMF website.