IMF member states have reached a historic agreement during their annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco. The consensus involves increasing contributions to the global lender and granting Africa an additional seat on its Executive Board. The IMF emphasized the need for greater financial support to empower governments in their efforts to combat poverty and climate change.
Nadia Calvino, Chair of the IMFC (International Monetary and Financial Committee), expressed the collective commitment to fostering inclusive and sustainable growth, advancing climate and digital initiatives, and addressing debt vulnerabilities. Notably, the financing gap of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust has been closed to continue aiding the most vulnerable member nations.
One of the key issues addressed at these annual meetings, which are set to conclude on Sunday, was the existing disparity in quota distribution, which currently favors advanced economies and European countries. This setup has disadvantaged major emerging countries like China and India. These emerging nations have long advocated for reforms in the system to address these inequities.
While Western nations have expressed openness to reform in principle, concerns about potentially enhancing China’s role within the IMF have made them hesitant to implement these changes. Achieving consensus in the face of such tensions was deemed a remarkable display of solidarity during these meetings.
Despite retaining the same distribution of votes, the IMF has decided to expand its Executive Board from 24 to 25 members, allocating an additional seat to Africa, which had only held two seats previously.
These meetings are especially significant as they mark the first time the IMF and World Bank have convened on the African continent since 1973, highlighting the growing importance of African perspectives and contributions to global economic discussions.