IMF, World Bank to support inclusive growth

With turbulence and widespread fiscal strain threatening the global economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Saturday vowed to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all of its member countries.

"We commit to do everything within our means to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all our member countries," said a joint communique issued by the IMF and World Bank at the end of its annual meeting in Washington.

"We reaffirm the need to work cooperatively to meet our development commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to support the poor in developing and emerging countries through this period of instability, as well as in the long-term," the joint communique said.

Commending the G20 for making development the cornerstone of its agenda, the IMF and World Bank noted that the turbulence in global financial markets and widespread fiscal strains has put the robustness and sustainability of the global economic recovery at risk.

"Volatile commodity prices and pressures on food security are critical challenges. We are alert to the possible global impacts of these issues, particularly for the poor. While developing countries have been the main contributors to recent global economic growth, the economic crisis has reduced their capacity to withstand further shocks," the joint communique said.

Observing that jobs are vital to translating growth into lasting poverty reduction and broad-based economic opportunities, the IMF and World Bank reiterated their commitment to job creation, especially by supporting the expansion of a vibrant private sector.

"In this connection, we recognise the important role the International Finance Corporation [IFC] and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency [MIGA] play in poorer countries and in challenging markets," the communique said.

"We welcome and encourage the cooperation of the World Bank Group [WBG] with member governments and other partners, such as the G20, the International Labor Organisation and the International Monetary Fund [IMF], to pursue a comprehensive approach to job creation for women and men," it said.

Asserting that the World Bank Group must continue to help member countries build their resilience and respond to crises, the joint communique said to do this effectively, the WBG must remain prepared with human, knowledge and financial capacity.

"We welcome the WBG's enhanced focus on innovative approaches to support countries in the Middle East and North Africa region to address the social and economic consequences of their current transition. We call on the WBG to scale up support and strengthen collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, in particular other Multilateral Development Banks," it said.