Hosted jointly by the World Bank and the World Resources Institute, this year’s edition features a prestigious lineup of global leaders and experts from the public, private, academic and civil society spheres. Together, they will showcase the latest thinking and disruptive solutions that are opening new doors across the industry—from innovative public transport approaches to vehicle electrification, micromobility, smarter logistics, and more. 

South Asia is at the epicenter of ambient air pollution—pollution people are exposed to outside their households. According to the latest World Air Quality Report, 2020, of the top 40 most polluted cities in the world, 37 are in South Asia. Air pollution in the region is a health hazard and represents the third-highest risk for premature death, as compared to the ninth highest cause in Western Europe. Overall, it contributes to around 11 percent of all deaths, and approximately 40 million disability-adjusted life years in South Asia. Air pollution, however, is not a localized phenomenon. It is transported across borders, and its effects spread to places far away from the source. This requires a country-wide, inter-state, and a regional response. Join our sixth #OneSouthAsia Conversation, which will focus on the ways regional cooperation can help achieve a shared vision of healthier and cleaner air in South Asia. This builds on our previous Spring Meetings event on Air Quality Management in South Asia in ...

Marine plastics has become a global development challenge as the growing amount of mismanaged plastic waste pollutes oceans, coastlines, rivers, and other inland waterways while affecting the livelihoods of coastal communities. The sudden increase in single-use plastics during the COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional stress on countries working to tackle the challenge. The East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region is a key player in the marine plastics crisis with a groundswell of public support for urgent action against plastic pollution to protect communities, ecosystems, and economies. Join government officials, private sector leaders, and civil society representatives from across the region to discuss effective ways to accelerate policies, investments, and innovations to address marine plastics in East Asia. Register to receive updates on the virtual event.  

After a moment of silence for the victims of the recent disasters in Sulawesi & Lombok, Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia’s Vice President opened the High-level Dialogue on Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance in Indonesia. He shared how the country has had a long history in managing and responding to disasters but stressed the need to be aware of the fiscal risks. Kalla added that this event was an opportunity to share experiences and discuss potential solutions to disaster risk financing and insurance.   A short video played showing how Indonesia is prone to nine different types of disasters and also presented the country’s National Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance strategy. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, World Bank Group’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, acted as moderator and opened the panel by introducing World Bank President Jim Kim. He expressed condolences to Indonesia for the recent disasters and emphasized that the country was incredibly resilient. Kim added that under the government’...

Rapid advances in financial technology – fintech –  are transforming the global economic and financial landscape. Fintech can support growth and poverty reduction by strengthening financial development, inclusion and efficiency, but may also pose risk to financial stability and integrity as well asconsumer and investor protection.  In response to calls from member countries, the IMF and World Bank Group have developed the “Bali Fintech Agenda” as a blueprint for policymakers and the international community.            Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, and Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, presented the Agenda in a panel discussion, where they were joined by Sri Mulyani Indrawati, minister of finance of Indonesia and chair of the Development Committee, Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Reserve Bank and chair of the IMFC, and Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chair of the Financial Stability Board. President of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) delivered the opening remarks. Reflecting on the origins of ...

East Asia’s renaissance has continued. East Asian countries have progressed from low-income to middle-income status in the past half century. The scale of this success has been called the ‘East Asian Miracle’ because of the sheer pace of transformation. Yet, East Asia’s resurgence remains incomplete. Despite its success, developing East Asia’s continued resurgence will depend on its ability to navigate the currents of a changing region, and most importantly, a changing world. This event looks at the challenges and new opportunities that can help countries in this region make the transition successfully from middle- to high-income status.

Have globalization and rapid technological development given developing countries unprecedented opportunities to improve the lives of their citizens, or have they instead just led to an inexorable rise in income and wealth inequality? The East Asia and Pacific Region has come to symbolize how rapid, broadly shared, growth can improve the lives of millions. Yet past successes also mean that expectations are running high that growth will continue to deliver significant improvements in welfare in an increasingly challenging global environment. Concerns have also been raised about a possible growing divide between the prospering middle-class and pockets of the poor and vulnerable left behind. This panel discussion brings together senior policymakers and policy analysts from East Asia and beyond to talk about their countries’ recent experiences and lessons learned in this area.

Productivity is slowing down around the world in advanced, emerging and developing economies alike. Yet, accelerating productivity growth remains key to sustaining inclusive growth. With no consensus on either the causes of the current decline or the actions to address it, there remains much analysis and debate on the subject. Join senior policymakers and analysts from East Asia and Latin America for a discussion on what has worked and what still needs to be done to boost productivity in order to sustain inclusive growth.

Twenty years ago, Sudhir Shetty was the World Bank’s Senior Country Economist for the nation formerly known as Burma. This week, Sudhir Shetty is back in Yangon as the World Bank’s Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific region, and is seeing a very different country with cranes dotting the commercial capital’s skyline, imported cars filling the city’s streets, and growing tourism. During this event, Sudhir will give a presentation on recent economic developments in East Asia and Myanmar, followed by a panel discussion featuring business leaders in Myanmar to discuss their perspectives on Myanmar’s economic policy priorities.