Mobilizing well directed financing
Friday, 10 July 2020
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Virtually (held New York time)
Official meeting
As economies are slowly reopening following a sudden halt of activity, countries have the opportunity to build back better by creating more sustainable, resilient and inclusive economies and societies. There is significant momentum in an increased number of countries around the notion that a reversion to the pre-COVID economy, which fueled environmental degradation, climate change and increasing inequalities, is not desirable. Many recognize the recovery from the economic fallout of the pandemic as a vital opportunity to shape a post-COVID economy that is greener, healthier, more inclusive and more resilient.
Yet, the context for financing this recovery is challenging. Governments have seen the fiscal space for investment in a sustainable recovery significantly limited in the context of the global economic crisis. Countries are faced with a dual challenge of declining revenues due to the crisis and increased spending demands. An increasing number of countries is also facing acute debt distress. Efforts are being made to provide debt relief for all countries requesting debt alleviation. But a comprehensive solution that engages multilateral, public and private creditors is yet to be achieved. At the same time, the private sector also faces limited space to invest, as businesses have also been hit hard.
ECOSOC has taken several steps to help countries finance their response to COVID-19 and embark on a path towards a sustainable recovery. The 2020 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum adopted an outcome containing policies to support health measures, address socioeconomic impact of the pandemic and ensure building back better. The outcome represents the first universally agreed UN set of policies on COVID-19. In addition, the Council convened two meetings of the FfD Forum, on 23 April and 2 June respectively, to advocate for a comprehensive response; highlight the needs on the ground and help countries access resources available for COVID-19 response.
These discussions advocated that resources that are being made available must be aligned with the SDGs, including stimulus packages and bailouts, as well as international development cooperation in all its forms. There is also need for scaling up the availability of concessional financing for developing countries struggling to rebuild, especially the least developed and other countries in special situations. Moreover, there is the need to strengthen national and subnational capacities to manage and reduce risks and multidimensional vulnerability and advance multi-stakeholder partnerships in the efforts to build SDG-conducive economies and societies. The recovery will only be sustainable if the systemic and structural vulnerabilities exposed by the pandemic are adequately addressed, e.g. evolving durable solution to debt sustainability.
Proposed guiding questions:
- What policy measures and financing options can enable countries to build back better and achieve a resilient and sustainable recovery?
- How can the economy be aligned with the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement, and how can the recovery preserve the environment and build resilience to climate change and other global risks?
- What steps are needed at the global level to support the most vulnerable countries and people to achieve a resilient and sustainable recovery?
Chair:
- H.E. Ms. Mona Juul, President of Economic and Social Council
Moderator:
- Ms. Annalisa Prizzon, Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
Resource persons:
- H.E. Mr. Ryan Straughn, M.P., Minister, Ministry of Finance, Barbados
- Mr. Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate
- Ms. Sharinee Shannon Kalayanamitr, Partner, Gobi Partners, Thailand
Lead discussant:
- Mr. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President, European Investment Bank
- Ms. Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Philippines (Civil Society Financing for Development Group)
Followed by interactive discussion
Respondent:
- H.E. Ms. Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, State Secretary, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland
H.E. Mr. Ryan Straughn
Minister in the Ministry of Finance of Barbados
Ryan Straughn is a Minister in the Ministry of Finance of Barbados. He is the founder and Managing Director/CEO of ABELIAN Consulting Services. He is a former Central Bank of Barbados economist with over 10 years’ experience modelling the macroeconomic business cycle and assessing the stability of the financial system. He spent 4 years at the Central Bank of Barbados modelling the economy of Barbados and has consulted on rebasing the Barbados economy since leaving the institution. Ryan joined the risk management department of Motability Operations (UK) in 2006, as its Asset Risk Analyst, where he conducted extensive risk analytics and economic capital modelling on the company’s portfolio worth £3.7 billion with annual turnover of £2.2 billion. In 2009, he formed our predecessor, ABELIAN Associates in the UK, where he provided consulting services for companies such as MasterCard Europe, HSBC and Zurich.
H.E. Ms. Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch
State Secretary, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland
State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Attorney, MBA, SECO Director and Director of the Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate since 1 April 2011. From 2007 Federal Council Ambassador and Delegate for Trade Agreements, Switzerland's chief negotiator at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as member of the SECO Board of Directors and in addition to the WTO responsible for the OECD and free trade agreements as head of the World Trade Division in the Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate. Previously, from 1999 to 2007, head of the WTO sector. From 1995 head of section in the WTO section of the Federal Office of Foreign Economic Affairs FOFEA. 1992/1993 she worked at the World Bank (Washington D.C., USA) as assistant to Switzerland's Executive Director's. From 1990 to 1995 scientific adviser in the Legal Service and International Investment and Technology Transfer Service in the FOFEA. 1989 gained her MBA from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, F). 1988 Junior Consultant at McKinsey in Zurich. 1987 gained her law degree at the University of Berne qualifying as an attorney.
H.E. Ms. Mona Juul
Seventy-fifth President of the Economic and Social Council
Her Excellency Mona Juul was elected seventy-fifth President of the Economic and Social Council on 25 July 2019. Ambassador Juul is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations in New York.
Ambassador Mona Juul was previously Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2014-2018), Director General for Security Policy and the High North in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2011-2014), Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York (2005-2010) and Chair of the 1st Committee of the 61 session of the United Nations General Assembly (2006).
She served as Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005), accredited to Cyprus for the same period. State Secretary/Deputy Foreign Minister at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2000), Special Advisor/Ambassador/Middle East Coordinator in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000) chairing the AHLC (Ad Hoc Liaison Committee on Assistance to the Palestinians). She was Minister Counsellor at the Norwegian Embassy in Tel Aviv (1994-1997). Her first posting was at the Norwegian Embassy in Cairo (1988-1990).
Mona has been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1986, during which time she has gained broad diplomatic experience. This includes working in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992-1993) and member of the small Norwegian team that facilitated the secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO leading to the Oslo Agreement.
She holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Oslo.
Ambassador Juul was born 10 April 1959 and is married to Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen. They have two children.
Mr. Ambroise Fayolle
Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group
Ambroise Fayolle was appointed Vice-President of the European Investment Bank in February 2015. He is currently in charge of the operational activities of the Bank in France, Germany, South Africa, and, for ACP/OCT mandates, West Africa and Pacific Islands. He is also responsible for EFSI, innovation, the EIB Economic Department, Development policy and is Board member of the European Investment Fund. Ambroise Fayolle, represented France at the Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the World Bank, in Washington DC from September 2007 until his appointment as head of Agence France Tresor, the Debt Agency of the French Ministry of Finance, in March 2013. He was also a staff member of the IMF between 2003 and 2005. A graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), most of his career was spent at the Treasury Department in the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. In particular, he was division chief in charge of the State Financing and Monetary Affairs Bureau — the predecessor to AFT— and, in 2005, was appointed assistant secretary for Multilateral and Development affairs at the French Treasury, Sous-Sherpa for the G8, and Co-Chairman of the Paris Club.
Mr. Jorge Moreira da Silva
Director, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate
Mr. Moreira da Silva is since 1st November 2016 the Director of the Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD) at OECD. From 2013 to 2015, he was Portugal’s Minister of Environment, Energy and Spatial Planning. Prior to this Ministerial position, Mr. Moreira da Silva served as Senior Environmental Finance Advisor and Programme Manager on Climate Change Innovative Finance at UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy (2009-2012); Senior Advisor to the President of Portugal (2006-2009); Secretary of State for Science and Higher Education (2003-2004); Secretary of State for Environment and Spatial Planning (2004-2005); Member of the Portuguese Parliament (1995-99; 2005-2006; 2015-16); and Member of the European Parliament (1999-2003). As Member of the European Parliament, he was the Standing Draftsman on climate change and he authored the Report and the political agreement on the EU GHG Emissions Trading Directive in 2003.
Ms. Annalisa Prizzon
Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
Annalisa Prizzon is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development and Public Finance programme. She has widely published in peer-reviewed journals, edited books and research reports on aid, external debt and development finance. She is currently leading the research portfolio on international public finance. She has led (or been part of) teams advising strategy departments in bilateral and multilateral development agencies and banks. Before joining ODI, Annalisa was an economist and policy analyst in academic institutions and international organisations (OECD and World Bank Group). She holds a PhD in Economics and Public Finance with a focus on external debt sustainability in low-income countries.
Ms. Lidy Nacpil
Coordinator, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, Philippines (Children & Youth Major Group / Civil Society Financing for Development Group)
Lidy Nacpil is an activist working on economic, environmental, social and gender justice issues in national, regional, and global campaigns. She is the coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, co-coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, and member of the global Coordinating Committee of the Global Alliance on Tax Justice. She also serves as the convener of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and vice president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition.
Ms. Sharinee Shannon Kalayanamitr
Partner, Gobi Partners, Thailand
Shannon has made her mark in the tech world building businesses [women-focused ecommerce platform - ORAMI/ MOXY, Lazada Thailand, PPTVThailand] and driving the ecosystem through tech investments [Currently Partner at Gobi Partners, Pan-Asian Venture Capital with over $1.1 Bn USD AUM and Shark Tank Thailand] in Southeast Asia. With her long-standing career of almost 2 decades, spanning from investment banking at Lehman Brothers right after the 1997 Asian Crisis to Global Corporate Planning Director at Boonrawd Brewery bringing Thai products to the world, today - her domain is in the Tech world. She has consistently paved the way for women in executive, entrepreneurship roles in traditionally male dominated industries in Southeast Asia and continues to do so today.
