MARRAKESH, Morocco, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The World Bank said on Monday that the fighting in Israel and Gaza was “rapidly escalating,” as clouds hung over the start of its annual meeting with the International Monetary Fund in the Gaza Strip. “Relaxation” was encouraged. Morocco.
An internal World Bank memo seen by Reuters notes that financial institutions in Gaza and the West Bank have suffered “significant loss of life, destruction and heavy civilian casualties on both sides.” expressed support for the activities of
“We hope for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict and an end to violence. The World Bank and development partners are committed to supporting the poorest and most vulnerable people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. We have been working for many years, and we will continue to lay the foundations for a more stable and sustainable future.”
The annual meeting, to be held in Marrakech from October 9 to 15, is expected to focus on boosting funding for the IMF and World Bank, both of which could be controversial. But on the first day, the attention of many government officials and nonprofit representatives turned to the possibility of a broader conflict.
“We are all very surprised by the number of casualties on both sides,” Anna Vijerde, the World Bank’s managing director of operations, told Reuters in an interview.
The conflict has already caused oil prices to soar and a rush to safe-haven assets such as gold, which could hurt developing countries’ economies.
World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gil told Reuters that the violence was a key topic of discussion at the IMF-World Bank meeting on sovereign debt, mediocre growth prospects and major development setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was concerned that this could have a negative impact on the future.
“The focus is always taken away from low-income countries, where 750 million people live.”
attention shift
Eric Lecomp, director of the Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based group seeking debt relief for the country, drew parallels to the high-profile changes sparked when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“When the Ukraine war began, we saw world leaders delay decisions on development, debt and taxes,” LeCompte said. “Now that they are finally able to get their attention back on track, the conflict in Israel and Gaza makes everything even more difficult.”
Gill said the conflict increases risks to the global economy, including disrupting trade, especially if supply chain delays that caused price increases during the coronavirus pandemic recur. He said it was possible.
“We are in a very trade-sensitive region of the world,” Gill told Reuters, adding that the conflict could push up headline inflation and have potential implications for monetary policy that could hit developing countries hardest. He added that another risk is the ripple effect.
“The most pressing problem at the moment is inflation,” he said. “The problem will become even more complicated if these logistics congestions cause fuel prices to rise and commodity prices to start rising.”
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not mention the conflict in her opening remarks to the meeting, instead focusing on her visit Monday morning to a school destroyed in the September 8 earthquake, and highlighting host country Morocco. was praised for getting children back into classrooms within 10 days.
On Sunday night, Georgieva joined World Bank President Ajay Banga and members of Morocco’s Atlas Lions Club for a “goodwill” soccer match involving children from the affected mountain villages.
He then told civil society groups that it was important for IMF shareholders to push for an increase in the Fund’s allocated resources this week to ensure lenders had enough resources to respond to future economic shocks. Ta.
Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder.Editing: John Boyle, Bernadette Baum, Andrea Ricci
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.