Each spring, thousands of government officials, the private sector,journalists, civil society representatives, and other interested observers gather in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.
At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the IMF and the World Bank.
Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets.
This year, Hon. Minister John Rwangombwa was one of the featured guest speakers at the “Global Agriculture Food Security Program” (GAFSP) forum.
GAFSP is a multilateral mechanism who’s objective is to address the underfunding of country and regional agriculture and food security strategic investment plans already being developed by countries in consultation with donors and other stakeholders at the country-level.
During his discussion, Hon. Minister Rwangombwa shared Rwanda’s positive experience through GAFSP stating how the program has impacted the livelihood of its citizens.
Through the program, Rwanda has been able to stabilize its food security for the past 3 years. Moreover, the Hon. Minister was also part of a panel discussion titled, “Catalyzing Change for results in Africa- The Role of Capacity Development.
Amongst the panelist were the Chief Economist of the World Bank Africa Region, Dr. Shantayanan Devarjan, Executive Director of Femmes Africa Solidarite, Dr. Bineta Diop to name a few.
He noted, in his remarks, that Rwanda’s experience has shown a focus on capacity building as an essential part of development for post conflict countries and a necessary ingredient for African’s development goals.
Improving capacity development is critical so that capacity is a means to advance change, not a barrier to change. He also attributed the positive results for Rwanda is because of, “political will, a clear framework for capacity building, innovative approaches and the support of development partners”.
Additionally, he also encouraged the importance of peer learning across Africa as it also plays a critical role in continuous growth for the Continents as a whole.
Throughout the coming days, Rwanda continued to be highlighted for its increasingly promising example as a country that is successfully building programs, to protect poor populations during systemic crises as well as in good times.
Through initiatives such as the “Safety Net and Social Protection” programs, Rwanda has been able to build effective and affordable systems to protect its citizens.
Hon. Minister Rwangombwa shared Rwanda’s cutting-edge knowledge and experiences to help implement this critical agenda to other African countries.
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