Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson will chair the joint development committee of the World Bank and the IMF until 2026.
In addition to her current role as Sweden’s finance minister (Moderates, EPP), Svantesson will become the first Swede to chair the Joint Development Committee of the World Bank and the IMF, and the second European after Spanish economist Nadia Calviño, who was appointed in December 2021.
“It feels important at a time like this,” Svantesson said.
Her new position as chair will be formally introduced at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting on Friday, in a session with the outgoing chair, UAE Finance Minister Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini.
The term in office usually spans two years and starts after an annual meeting. Svantesson is elected for 2025-2026, but in practice will already take over as president in November this year.
The Development Committee is a joint consultative body of the World Bank and the IMF that provides policy guidance on global economic development issues.
Composed of finance ministers and central bank governors from both developed and developing countries, the committee focuses on challenges such as poverty reduction, sustainable development, and financial stability in developing countries.
The development committee, which meets twice a year, serves as a platform to discuss global development priorities and to coordinate the efforts of both institutions to address pressing economic issues.
Despite her new international role, Svantesson assured the Swedish press that she will have plenty of time for her work as Sweden’s finance minister.
“I will, of course, give my full focus and energy at home, as I always do”, she said, adding that she was determined to find a way for countries to work together amid current divisive times.
In her position as finance minister, Svantesson led the charge last week to abandon the country’s long-standing “budget surplus target,” a rule in place since the 1990s that required maintaining a budget surplus of 0.33% of GDP and keeping public debt below 35%.
This shift, supported by a broad political coalition, reflects a growing consensus that rigid fiscal discipline, once seen as essential after Sweden’s financial crisis in the 1990s, is now hampering necessary investment.
[Edited by Daniel Eck]
Source: euractiv.com
