Speech minister De Bruijn bij Development Committee of the World Bank Group
Speech by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Tom de Bruijn at the meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank Group
Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of our constituency, I welcome the Bank’s role in financing a green, resilient and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and in preventing and preparing for future crises. The Bank should be ambitious when it comes to getting us back on track to deliver on our SDG agenda by 2030 and mobilise the necessary funds to do so, which means that:
The Bank needs to put more effort into making its GRID Agenda and Climate Change Action Plan operational and deliver on it.
We welcome the Bank’s agenda for green, inclusive and resilient development, but we call on the Bank to make both the new Climate Change Action plan and the GRID approach more concrete and result-oriented by precise deadlines, results and indicators.
The latest scientific insights should inform the implementation of the CCAP and the CCDRs. The CCAP should express an explicit commitment to a 1.5 degree pathway. In the run-up to the Climate Summit in Glasgow, we want to know how the Bank will contribute to the Summit’s targets. In this respect, I would like to see that IDA20 sets at least 35% of its funding aside for initiatives with climate co-benefits, with an even split between mitigation and adaptation. In addition, I expect IDA to develop a proposal for a trajectory towards more climate finance.
We would also like to see that the Bank assesses every financing operation for its contribution to GRID in line with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. This requires the Bank to focus more on cooperation with the UN, other multilateral development banks, and development partners, especially local organisations. In this context, we would urge the Bank to participate in the preparation and implementation of the Integrated National Financial Frameworks.
Secondly, it is crucial for the Bank to prioritise the most poor and vulnerable populations in building resilience and achieving crisis preparedness.
This means that the Bank should focus on young people, and women and girls in particular, in providing access to education and health services. This includes access to COVID-19 vaccines, sexual and reproductive health and rights services, and mental health and psychosocial support services.
By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s poorest and often least resilient people may be living in fragile or conflict-affected settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit these countries the hardest. For this reason, we insist that the Bank make sure that the plans for crisis resilience are well aligned with the Bank’s policy on fragile countries and areas in conflict, as well as gender sensitive.
Finally, there is a pressing need for agreement between the Bank, the UN and the international community on how we can assist the population of Afghanistan in the areas of basic services, education and healthcare while ensuring full respect for human rights.
In conclusion Madam chair, I trust that the Bank can lead developing countries back on track towards achieving both the SDGs and the Bank’s twin goals– while leaving no one behind.
Thank you.