Annual Meetings    Boards of Governors World Bank Group International Monetary Fund WASHINGTON, D.C.	1999 Annual Meetings Home Bank Home Fund Home
Program Schedule Monday, September 27, 1999    Last updated September 3, 1999

	9:00-10:30	The WTO Agenda from a Development Perspective For many developing countries, the international trading system has been a powerful vehicle for development. Other countries, particularly the least developed ones, have been left behind. The panel will examine how enhancing developing countries' participation in international trade presents new challenges and opportunities for the World Bank, IMF and WTO. How can the international community help developing countries to benefit from the upcoming WTO negotiations? How can the international community help developing countries to implement their existing GATT/WTO commitments in a way that furthers their development objectives? How can the international community help developing countries to balance the increasing overlap between the trade and development agendas in implementing WTO requirements in "new" areas such as intellectual property and technical standards, which may tie up a significant share of the development budget in poor countries? Discussion Leader Martin Wolf, Associate Editor & Economics Commentator, Financial Times, United Kingdom Moderator Richard Eglin, Director, Trade & Finance Division, WTO
	9:00-10:30	Toward Greater Transparency in Monetary and Financial Systems: Why Does It Matter? Insufficient transparency in the conduct of the affairs of international financial organizations, national monetary and financial agencies, and private financial sector firms and markets may have contributed to recent financial crises in various countries. This has generated a call in the international community for improving transparency in the policies and practices of these entities. As a result, international organizations and other standard-setting agencies are developing new and/or stronger transparency codes covering a number of finance-related areas, including data dissemination, fiscal, monetary and financial policy transparency, banking regulation and supervision, securities and insurance, regulation, accounting, auditing, bankruptcy, and corporate governance. How is the case for seeking greater transparency different for international financial organizations, national monetary and financial authorities, and private financial sector firms? What are the costs of adopting greater transparency practices? How can these costs be contained? Does the market recognize and reward countries and private financial firms that practice greater transparency? In what ways? How do improvements in transparency practices contribute to the adoption of more sound policies? Discussion Leaders John Hicklin, Assistant Director, Policy Development & Review Department, International Monetary Fund James H. Lau, Jr., Executive Director External Department, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong, China Gus O'Donnell, Director of Macroeconomic Policy and Prospects, H.M. Treasury, United Kingdom Jeffrey R. Shafer, Managing Director, Salomon Smith Barney, USA Moderator William R. White, Economic Advisor and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department, Bank for International Settlements
	9:00-10:30	The Changing Development Landscape: Globalization, Localization and Urbanization* Policymakers in the twenty-first century will face a dramatically altered development landscape. While the nation-state will remain central to the development process, the importance of institutions both above and below that level will increase rapidly. This session will explore how policymakers should respond to this new environment, with a view toward strengthening institutional development at both the global and local levels. Some of the questions to be discussed include: What are the innovations needed at various policymaking levels to ensure the maximum benefit from expanding global flows of trade and finance? How should nations come together to protect the global environmental commons? What are the rules needed to ensure efficient decentralization? How can we make cities both dynamic centers of growth and better places to live? Discussion Leaders Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics, University of California at Berkeley, USA Vernon Henderson, Professor of Economics, Brown University, USA Tasso Ribeiro Jereissati, Governor, State of Ceará, Brazil Moderator Moeen Qureshi, Chairman, Emerging Markets Partnership, USA
	11:00-12:30	East Asia 2010: New Values, New Priorities? East Asia is moving to reestablish itself in the new global business environment after the worst financial collapse in fifty years. Forces of globalization and integration are driving changes in political and business practices, and at the local level, there is clear and growing demand for managerial proficiency, tighter corporate governance, and greater transparency. There is also a need for a stronger partnership between the public and private sector to address issues of sustainable development, the role of information and technology, democratization, and the rising influence of civil society. The panelists will offer their forecasts and prescriptions for regional actors. How should governments respond to powerful and competing trends toward globalism, regionalism, and decentralization? How should governments evolve in their roles as regulators and facilitators? What is the competitive advantage of transparency? What role should the private sector have in reconstructing post financial crisis societies? What is the appropriate level of burden sharing? What is the impact of global connectivity in the structure of business and industry? Discussion Leaders Roberto F. de Ocampo, President, Asian Institute of Management and Senior Adviser of Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co., Former Philippine Secretary of Finance Jin Ku Kang, Chairman & CEO, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd, Korea Jin Liqun, Vice Minister of Finance, China Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Vice President, Philippines Moderator Harry Harding, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs & Professor of International Affairs & Political Science, George Washington University, USA
	11:00-12:30	Globalization and Culture: Must They Clash? * From McDonald's to CNN to the stock market, the evidence of globalization is everywhere. While there has been a great deal of focus on the economic and political benefits and risks of globalization, less attention has been paid in policymaking circles to the effects of globalization on preserving cultural identity. While there is general agreement among experts that respect for local customs is a necessity for sustainable development, many citizens in developing countries and other observers feel that globalization may be an uncontrollable force threatening the very survival of cultural traditions. Bringing together a number of eminent writers and thinkers from around the globe, this seminar will assess the meaning of globalization for different cultures, ways that cultural traditions and languages can be promoted through global networks, and what steps, if any, should be taken to cushion the negative impact of globalization on culture. Is preserving cultural identity and diversity possible in this era of globalization? Why does it matter? How can artists, the media and other actors in civil society help ensure that culture and tradition remain central to public policy? What is the appropriate role for national governments, as well as multilateral institutions? Discussion Leaders Vincenzo Paglia, Monsignor, General Ecclesiastical Assistant, Community of Sant'Egidio, Italy Sergio Ramirez, Writer, Nicaragua Shashi Tharoor, Director of Communication & Special Projects, United Nations Moderator To Be Announced
	11:00-12:30	Profits and Global Health: Public-Private Alliances for Vaccines Vaccines are one of the most important, cost-effective health interventions available today. Exciting breakthroughs in technology have broadened tremendously the prospect for new vaccines. However, the world faces two important dilemmas: First, new vaccines will be considerably more expensive and new strategies will be needed to convince governments of their value, address limited financing mechanisms and develop appropriate pricing based on capacity to pay. Second, a market failure has resulted in inadequate investment in high priority vaccines that address diseases in developing countries. This session will explore this situation, and the availability of new financing instruments which reduce the risk and costs of investments in the various stages of product development and/or provide manufacturers with the incentive of a future guaranteed market. From the perspectives of the vaccine industry and the public sector, what are the critical issues enabling or hindering public-private alliances for vaccines? What potential "win-win" strategies would enable industry to make appropriate returns while ensuring that priority products such as an HIV/AIDS vaccine are developed, scaled-up and made affordable for those in need? Discussion Leaders Seth Berkley, President, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, USA Jacques-François Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Parteurop S.A., France Moderator William H. Foege, Professor, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA
	1:00-2:00	Keynote: Culture, Democracy and Development: Striking a Synergy Keynote Speaker  Wole Soyinka. Nobel Laureate, Professor, Emory University, USA Moderator  To Be Announced
	2:00-3:00	Luncheon Hosted by Atiku Abubakar, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
	3:30-4:45	The Lessons of Development: Equity and Sustainability * The last decades of the century witnessed striking progress but also saw dismal setbacks. The quality and distribution of economic growth we have seen was inadequate for preventing a substantial increase in poverty. The same type of growth was also associated with rapid degradation of the environment and irreversible loss of biodiversity. This session reviews the world wide experience of the last decades, both the development record and the policy performance; and summarizes lessons to be learned. What were the causes for the sharp setbacks in developing countries at the end of the century? Was it related to a single-minded pursuit of rapid growth focusing on physical capital accumulation? What was the role played by rapid global integration and liberalization? How can a more balanced approach involving all three assets, human, natural and physical capital, be achieved for more sustainable development? What are the impacts of the increasing volatility and inequality in growth, and how can we minimize harm to the poor? Discussion Leaders Francis Fukuyama, Hirst Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University, USA Nicholas Stern, Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, United Kingdom Vinod Thomas, Director World Bank Institute, World Bank Moderator Nancy Birdsall, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA
	3:30-4:45	Strengthening Corporate Governance The international financial crisis has increased the urgency of dealing with corporate governance issues worldwide. In fact, corporate governance has become an important building block of the new international financial architecture. Governments, the private sector and other stakeholders are working together in developed and developing countries alike to improve corporate governance. For more information on the World Bank's work in corporate governance, see http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/privatesector/cg/index.htm. How can governments best ensure establishment of proper regulatory regimes? Why is this so important? What role can the private sector play in supporting the reform process, and where necessary, leading that process? Discussion Leaders Henryka Bochniarz, President, Nicom Consulting, Poland Jonathan Charkham, Adviser to PIRC Ltd., United Kingdom Judith Hanratty, Company Secretary, BP Amoco plc, United Kingdom Moderator Joanna R. Shelton, Deputy Secretary General, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
	3:30-4:45	Creating Livable Cities for the Next Century The trend towards decentralizing political and fiscal authority in many countries has given local governments, including many at the municipal level, new responsibilities for investment in infrastructure and the provision of other essential services. This session will explore the question of how municipal governments can become more attractive and reliable partners with the private sector in the development and financing of urban infrastructure projects. Particular focus will be given to the changing "rules of the game" of intergovernmental relations, the requirement for greater transparency in local government finances, and the expectations of potential private financiers. What are the main constraints to the creditworthiness of municipal governments and their credibility as reliable partners with the private sector? What can central governments do to reduce sources of financial and political risk in public-private infrastructure partnerships involving municipal governments? What actions can municipal governments take to strengthen their ability to mobilize resources for investment? What are some innovative approaches to municipal risk reduction and mitigation, and how can they be adopted more widely? Discussion Leaders Gabor Demszky, Mayor of Budapest, Hungary Jaime Ravinet, Mayor of Santiago, Chile Pierre Richard, Group Chairman, DEXIA, France Moderator Anthony Pellegrini, Director of the Transport Water and Urban Development Department, World Bank
	5:15-6:15	Keynote: Lessons from Global Crises Opening Remarks James D. Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank Group Keynote Speaker Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, USA
	6:30-8:00	Reception hosted by Arthur Andersen
		* Public Policy Forum
		Please note that Speakers are confirmed as of August 31, 1999 but still subject to change.