As World Bank turns 80, how to tackle 21st-century problems?

People & Profit

As the International Monetary Fund and World Bank mark 80 years since their founding, how can they stay relevant and effective? During the annual fall meeting in Washington, World Bank Senior Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg told FRANCE 24 that reforms are underway, but need to happen more quickly.

"I think an international organisation should always be subject to scrutiny, there should be critical questions, there should be criticism, and we should be held accountable. (...) It makes us better to respond," van Trotsenburg said.

He also underscored the importance of tackling climate change and biodiversity alongside the Bank's mandates of development, reconstruction, and reducing poverty.

"You cannot only talk about climate change or biodiversity, and then move to the topic of development. They are all intertwined, so you have to analyse them together, because they affect the economic prospects, social prospects, and particularly the communities."

Also in the show: the IMF hails the end of the global economy's inflationary spiral, but warns that geopolitical risks could derail its "stable but underwhelming" return to growth.