Statement by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak - 104th Meeting of the Development Committee - Key policy priorities

Jul 19, 2026

Statement delivered by Rt. Hon. Liz Truss and Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak at the 104th meeting of the Development Committee (October 15, 2021, Washington, DC) outlines priorities for the World Bank Group (WBG) and IMF after the COVID-19 pandemic declaration. It calls for stronger economic development and trade, “build back better” financing at scale, women’s economic empowerment and girls’ education, accelerated COVID-19 vaccines support, and expanded climate and crisis preparedness actions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Statement by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak

Economic development and trade

Build back better and women’s empowerment

COVID-19 vaccines, climate change, and crisis preparedness

Debt sustainability and additional financing

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors ofthe Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries) ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTH MEETING WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 15, 2021 DC/S/2021-0069 October 15, 2021 Statement by Rt. Hon. Liz Truss Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities and Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak Chancellor of the Exchequer United Kingdom Statement by Rt. Hon. Liz Truss Secretary of State for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Minister for Women and equalities and Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak Chancellor of the Exchequer United Kingdom 104th Meeting of the Development Committee October 15, 2021 Washington, DC The 2021 Annual Meetings take place more than 18 months since the declaration by the World Health Organization of COVID-19 as a pandemic. The next 18 months will be critical in Developing countries’response and recovery. Strong, sustainable and inclusive economic growth will be critical to this and supporting the future prospects for their people. The United Kingdom is seeking to build stronger economic ties globally to support a greener, safer, freer and more resilient world and are working with our partners, including through our G7 Presidency this year and hosting the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow to support this. We call on the WBG and IMF to support further action in the following areas: - Economic development and trade. We encourage the WBG to: support developing countries to participate in the global trading system, strengthen supply chains and build their capacity to meet global standards, ensure openness, and compete in a digital trade environment; and mobilise investment and build a pipeline of investible deals in the poorest countries and most challenging sectors including to build markets ofthe future. - Build back better. The WBG should work effectively with other MDBs to provide financing at scale to support quality investments to support national climate, development and poverty plans. We call on the WBG to play its part, including through supporting effective country platforms, to drive partnerships and mobilise private finance as we all strive to build back better. - Women’s economic empowerment and girls’ education. The WBG should support: global targets to support 40 million more girls into school and 20 million more girls to read by age 10 by 2026 in low and lower-middle-income countries; and increased access to social protection systems that empower women and link to wider services that promote inclusion, including access to childcare. The WBG should also increase its support for action to tackle Gender Based Violence, including sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. - COVID19 vaccines, treatments and tests. The WBG should: rapidly implement its $20 billion package of support; take more risk on its balance sheet, including to support Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs); and deepen its cooperation with COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) and the African Union African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) . We encourage the WBG to continue its work as part of the Multilateral Leaders’Taskforce on Scaling COVID-19 Tools and continue to work with different parts of the international architecture to ensure a better delivery plan. - Climate change. We welcome the WBG’s Climate Change Action Plan and its commitment to align all its projects with the Paris agreement and to ensure that, on average, at least 35% of its financing to 2025 supports action on climate change. We call on theWBG to go further before COP26 by: presenting an ambitious plan for increasing the amount of private sector climate finance that it mobilises; develop a methodology to track and report on its nature financing; and jointly commit with other MDBs to mainstream nature

FAQs

What does the statement call for regarding economic development and trade?

The statement encourages the WBG to support developing countries’ participation in the global trading system, strengthen supply chains, improve capacity to meet standards, and mobilize investment for investible deals, especially in the poorest countries and challenging sectors.

What actions are requested to “build back better”?

The statement asks the WBG to work with other MDBs to provide scaled financing for quality investments aligned with national climate, development, and poverty plans, including support for effective country platforms and mobilization of private finance.

How does the statement address COVID-19 and future crises?

It urges rapid implementation of a $20 billion WBG support package, deeper cooperation with COVAX and the African vaccine acquisition trust, and greater preparedness for future pandemics through measures like surge financing, faster disbursements, and higher crisis-preparedness investment.

Jul 19, 2026

Uploaded by Seraphina