The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness. Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial system. This year’s events will take place in Washington, DC, October 14-20, 2019.

“We’re helping countries build strong programs, tailored to the unique circumstances of their economies. We’re encouraging innovations that attract private sector investment, such as digital money. We’re promoting the rule of law, and transparency, and debt management in public finances.”

David Malpass
World Bank Group President

The Inaugural Meeting of the Boards of Governors was held in Savannah, Georgia, USA in March 1946. The first Annual Meetings were held in Washington in 1946.

The Annual Meetings include meetings of the Development Committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the Group of Twenty, the Group of Twenty-Four, and various other constituencies. At the conclusion of their meetings, the Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee, as well as several other groups, issue communiqués. The Annual Meetings will include a plenary session, at which Governors take up matters of business. At the Annual Meetings, the Boards of Governors make decisions on how current international monetary issues should be addressed and approve corresponding resolutions. The Annual Meetings are chaired by a Governor of the WBG and the IMF, with the chairmanship rotating among the membership each year. Every two years it elects Executive Directors. Each year any new members are welcomed into the WBG the IMF.

Because the Annual Meetings bring such a large number of member country officials together, they provide opportunities for consultations large and small, formal and informal. Numerous seminars are held in conjunction with the meetings, including seminars conducted by staff members for members of the press. These seminars are designed to foster creative dialogue among the private sector, government delegates, and senior Bank and IMF officials. The Per Jacobsson Lecture on international finance, which is sponsored by a foundation set up in honor of the IMF’s third Managing Director, is also given each year in conjunction with the Meetings.

Ubiquitous.