Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Vice-President and Chair of the Standing Committee on Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation, Hon. Pedro Roque (Portugal), participated at the Parliamentary Network Conference of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The event took place in Washington on 3-6 October 2016.
The parliamentary workshop at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings engages Parliamentarians in a dialogue on development and matters related to the global economy, with discussions between MPs, senior management, and technical or operational staff of the WB and the IMF.
Hon Roque contributed to the workshops dedicated to the “IMF Country Engagement – A Look Inside the IMF’s Program Design to Support Member Countries”, and “Migration, Conflict, and Displacement”.
In his intervention, the PAM Vice-President highlighted the privileged relation with the World Bank, recalling that PAM is a unique forum for Parliaments of the Mediterranean region, working to improve the economic and social well-being of the region’s citizens. “For PAM, the World Bank and other development partners need, to be fully effective, strong parliaments in which parliamentarians can fully exercise their role. PAM is committed to support the activities of the World Bank, through the legislative power that belongs to its Parliaments”, Hon Roque said.
In some economies of the Mediterranean region, Hon Roque said, growth is still weak and unsettled and needs to be stabilized, following the turmoil that took place in many countries of the region. In this context, there are other elements of potential instability, such as terrorism, as well as the volatile price of oil, especially for those countries whose economy is not diversified. Even on energy-related issues, PAM is strongly committed because peace and security are strictly related to economic and social development.
The parliamentary workshop at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings engages Parliamentarians in a dialogue on development and matters related to the global economy, with discussions between MPs, senior management, and technical or operational staff of the WB and the IMF, meaning the people responsible for designing and overseeing the implementation of projects and policies.//
Background information
PAM and the International Financial Institutions
Since its inception, PAM has been working in order to stimulate concerted legislative action at the national and regional level in support of economic growth. To reach this aim, PAM established in 2010 the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean.
PAM is fully aware of the importance of the role played by the International Financial Institutions in providing investments in the region, in order to generate development opportunities. As a result of this action, PAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in Geneva on 31 May 2013, and with the European Investment Bank (EIB), in Monaco on 4 February 2015.
The MoU with the EBRD highlights the complementarity of the mandates of PAM and EBRD: PAM’s goal to develop cooperation and dialogue between the parliaments of the Mediterranean states, and the EBRD’s mandate to foster the transition towards open market-oriented economies and to promote private and entrepreneurial initiatives. On 9 September 2016, a bilateral meeting was held between PAM and EBRD Presidents.
The MoU with the EIB, the financial investment arm of the European Union, was signed to engage in a deeper dialogue with European Financial Institutions, and aims at fostering private sector activities in the region, as a way to underpin growth and generate employment opportunities.
PAM and the World Bank
In 2014, PAM participated at the Parliamentary Workshop of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank group. The event was held in Washington, and the Assembly was represented by Hon. Ninel Peia (Romania). Since then, PAM regularly contributed to the parliamentary activities of the WB. The World Bank was invited to PAM 9th Plenary Session held in Monaco on 2 – 4 February 2015, as a keynote speaker. Ms. Nayé Bathily, Head of the WB Global Parliamentary Unit, participated at the event stressing the importance of parliamentarians, as representatives of the interests of the people.
In this framework, the Global Parliamentary Conference represents an important opportunity for PAM MPs to have an insight of the procedures of the WB and the IMF and to extend the regional financial purposes, adding international support to regional committed institutions. Furthermore, PAM intends to formalize the cooperation with the WB through the signing of a MoU, which would allow the Assembly to strengthen its role in the region in supporting investments and economic growth.