91385 DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries) NINETIETH MEETING WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 11, 2014 DC/S/2014-0043 October 11, 2014 Statement by H.E. Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Minister of Finance Kingdom of Bahrain on behalf of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Statement by H.E. Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Minister of Finance Kingdom of Bahrain on behalf of Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen 90th Meeting of the Development Committee October 11, 2014 Washington, D.C. The downward trends in growth and reform, and growing number of global crises - including, geopolitical conflicts, terrorism, climate change, and rise of Ebola- will exacerbate inequality within and between countries. Greater global leadership and actions are required to mitigate these trends. We welcome the initiation of the discussion on shared prosperity and its sharpened focus on income inequality. The growth in the incomes of the bottom 40 percent in many countries is encouraging. However, income inequality remains a salient issue that almost all countries are grappling with, where improving the income earnings of citizens, especially the poor and bottom 40 percent, remains an unrealized priority. Policies on human capital development, access to markets, and fiscal management are at the heart of achieving this goal, so are issues of good governance, social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. Globally shared prosperity also implies a shared responsibility between the public and private sectors, advanced and emerging markets, as well as MDBs and civil society. Many of the complex problems we face cannot be resolved without solid cooperation and collaboration with the private sector, for example. Other times, especially during global crises, the world must find global solutions and work within structured and coordinated environments and frameworks to maximize impact. Shared prosperity is a central issue and goal for our constituency, and we believe that it cannot be addressed in a piecemeal approach. At the global and transnational level, we welcome the process of formulating the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and commend the WBG and UN system for their partnership. Within the Bank, we are closely following the progress in the internal change process and note the steps taken by the WBG to mainstream the goal of shared prosperity in its policies and operations. We expect the newly implemented reforms to expeditiously reflect stronger synergies so client countries can reap faster and greater development gains, including in mainstreaming and tracking shared prosperity. Shared prosperity will not be attained without more jobs. With a global deficit of more than 600 million jobs in the next decade, the challenge is to ensure that jobs created are inclusive, productive, and private sector led. The WBG as a whole must play a larger and more transformational role in shaping and implementing this policy agenda. The multifaceted aspects of this challenge, including youth and female unemployment, informal employment, entrepreneurship and SMEs, productivity, and educational mismatch are to be thoroughly considered. We urge the WBG to strengthen its analysis and targets, and monitor its results at the country, regional, and global levels. We would also encourage regular reporting to the Development Committee on the progress of implementing this important agenda. Today, many countries in MENA face unprecedented risks and challenges that can compromise countries’ development, and regional and global prosperity and stability. These exceptional times require concerted efforts to spur inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and ensure that the people, especially the bottom 40 percent and the large youth population, see tangible benefits. While reforms are underway in a number of countries in transition spanning a number of complex issues including service delivery, jobs, subsidies and safety nets, and governance, some of the choices to be made are not easy or quick. They will certainly require the support of the World Bank Group and other development partners. Situations of conflict and fragility require an even greater attention to extreme poverty and shared prosperity. The definition of conflict and fragility should go beyond the traditional boundaries to include countries at risk of falling into conflicts, such as countries in transition and those bordering regional conflicts. Indeed, the influx of refugees in a number of our constituency members has pushed a large number of people into poverty and this issue continues to persist. We expect the WBG arms to continue to push the envelope on this focus area. The WBG must ensure greater flexibility, timeliness, and improved staffing arrangements to meet country needs and context. Achieving this will require a deeper understanding of the political economy of every client country, including the drivers of fragility and peace building. More also needs to be done to understand the impacts of conflict on women. Comprehensive and consistent data is a prerequisite driver of the shared prosperity policy agenda. We welcome the tracking of the Twin Goals in the 2014 Global Monitoring Report. However, the absence of valid and reliable data on poverty and shared prosperity poses a real threat to the level of action countries and the Bank can take. We call on greater leadership and collaboration between the WBG, IMF, and UN system to expeditiously kick start the "data revolution" by setting clear standards for measurement and further investing in global data infrastructure and country capacity to ensure the availability of data necessary to inform decision makers and citizens, especially in the poorest countries. The WBG must also seize every opportunity to improve its project level data and targets relating to gender, and the bottom 40 percent. We look forward to continuing the discussion on shared prosperity and thank President Kim and Bank staff for their efforts. 2