World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings

Anushka Wijesinha, Research Economist – IPS, attended the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. (16-22 April, 2012) representing Sri Lanka, and part of a 8 member South Asian youth delegation. Anushka, along with a Sri Lankan counterpart Fadhil Bakeer Markar (UNV, Sri Lanka) attended several debates and discussions of the Civil Society Policy Forum of the Spring Meetings. He made a presentation to a group of World Bank South Asia Region officials on ‘Youth in a Post-conflict Economy in Transition’, and was a panelist for a discussion on ‘Youth Unemployment: Causes and Responses’, alongside senior World Bank economists, David Robalino (Labour Team Leader) and Dena Ringold (Lead Economist, World Development Report 2013).

On the sidelines of the event, Anushka also met with Isabelle Guererro (Vice President for South Asia, World Bank), Naoyuki Shinohara (Deputy Managing Director, IMF), Kaushik Basu (Chief Economic Advisor, Prime Minister of India), Paul Romer (Professor of Economics, NYU Stern School of Business), and Sharmini Coorey (Director, IMF Institute).

The Spring Meetings brought together thousands of government officials, the private sector, journalists, civil society representatives and other interested observers. At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the IMF and the World Bank. Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets