Geneva, 13 to 15 November (Speakers to be confirmed)

Transcription

1 Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference Geneva, 13 t 15 Nvember 2017 PROGRAMME (Speakers t be cnfirmed)

2 Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference PERIOD: 13 t 15 Nvember 2017 VENUE: TARGET AUDIENCE: OBJECTIVE: Cnference Rm XVII, Palais des Natins, Geneva, Switzerland Senir decisin makers in the area f debt management and public finance The Cnference will explre current and tpical issues in debt management and public finance. Themes include the fllwing: Financing fr develpment Debt sustainability Respnsible and inclusive financing Mitigating debt management peratinal risks Presenters will include a balance f natinal experts, academics and representatives f internatinal and reginal rganizatins and civil sciety. Debate and discussin will be prmted. INVITATIONS: REGISTRATION: PARTICIPATION COSTS: INTERPRETATION: Sent t all UNCTAD member States, a large number f internatinal and reginal rganizatins and selected representatives f nngvernmental rganizatins and academia. Registratin fr the Cnference shuld be cmpleted nline at Only registered participants will be included in the list f participants. Attendance at the Cnference is free f charge, but participants will need t meet the csts f their travel and accmmdatin. Simultaneus interpretatin will be prvided int Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. DOCUMENTATION: Presentatins will be delivered in English, French r Spanish. All papers will be made available in electrnic frmat after the Cnference. Page 2 Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference

3 MONDAY, 13 NOVEMBER a.m. Security cntrl t enter the United Natins grunds Entrance t the United Natins grunds is via the Pregny Gate. Entry badges will be prepared in advance fr all registered participants. All participants are requested t bring their passprts and their riginal registratin frms a.m. Opening f the eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference Opening remarks by the Secretary-General f UNCTAD a.m. Keynte speech 11 a.m. 1 p.m. Panel 1: Financing fr develpment: Beynd business as usual At the Third Internatinal Cnference n Financing fr Develpment, Member States f the United Natins adpted the Addis Ababa Actin Agenda n financing fr develpment, which has been given a mixed receptin. It has been hailed as a milestne in advancing a new and innvative agenda t mbilize public and private, natinal and internatinal resurces fr develpment. Hwever, critics have pinted ut that it places undue emphasis n the rle f private capital and n dmestic resurce mbilizatin, withut being clear enugh abut the mechanisms and plicies thrugh which these tw areas f resurce mbilizatin can perate in the glbal ecnmy. This panel will take stck f the United Natins prcess f fllwing up n the Addis Ababa Actin Agenda, and take a fresh lk at the main challenges currently faced by a multilateral agenda fr develpment finance, as well as the pprtunities available. 1 3 p.m. Lunch break 3 5 p.m. Panel 2: Debt fr develpment: Still an ptin in the age f anxiety? Debt has been essential t structural transfrmatin in the past. As Alexander Hamiltn famusly put it, a natinal debt, if it is nt excessive, will be t us a natinal blessing. In a glbal ecnmy riven by fragmentatin, vlatility and anxiety abut inequalities, what ways remain t ensure that develping cuntries can leverage natinal (public and private) debt fr structural transfrmatin? Has their plicy space t d s been narrwed t far r d they simply need t adapt t new financing instruments? This panel will explre the rle f natinal debt in financing fr develpment in the current glbal ecnmy. 5 6 p.m. Panel 3: Financial plicy fr the pr: Financial inclusin and micrdebt Financial inclusin has been hailed as a milestne in prgress twards the empwerment f the pr, facilitating their access t financial services and thereby incentivizing entrepreneurship. Critics argue that financial inclusin Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference Page 3

4 actually undermines pr-pr plicies by depriving the pr f cash and lumbering them with unnecessary and expensive financial services f little use t them, yet lucrative fr financial institutins. In additin, financial inclusin is seen by sme as wrsening already critical tendencies twards micrdebt crises in sme cuntries. This panel will discuss the prs and cns f financial inclusin in the cntext f rising cncerns abut micrdebt crises p.m. Ccktails TUESDAY, 14 NOVEMBER a.m. Panel 4: State-cntingent debt instruments fr svereigns: Can they be made t wrk? State-cntingent debt instruments are emerging as a cmprmise between thse favuring market-based slutins t natinal debt fr develpment and thse arguing that multilateral gvernance f systemic issues in the glbal ecnmy is required. State-cntingent debt instruments can, in principle, be a cuntercyclical and risk-sharing tl. The main questin is hw such debt instruments can be made t wrk in internatinal financial markets t the extent f prviding a serius alternative t multilateral, bilateral and cnventinal brrwing in private internatinal financial markets. This panel will explre recent wrk and prpsals by the Internatinal Mnetary Fund t this effect a.m. Panel 5: Respnsible financing: The rle f sft law in prmting 1 p.m. sustainable lending and brrwing practices Recently, use f the term respnsible financing has grwn, yet its meaning and rle in the discussin n hw t finance develpment in the current glbal ecnmic envirnment is nt always clear. Essentially, the term refers t attempts t embed internatinal sft law n hw natinal debt shuld be cntracted and negtiated between debtrs and creditrs. Debtr creditr relatins f svereigns have been immensely cmplicated in the wake f glbal financializatin. A number f attempts have been made t prvide a wrkable framewrk f rules and nrms, including the UNCTAD principles n respnsible svereign lending and brrwing and, mre recently, the Grup f 20 peratinal guidelines fr sustainable financing. This panel will discuss the relevance f internatinal sft law in this regard, and the prs and cns f existing prpsals. 1 3 p.m. Lunch break p.m. Panel 6: When is a debt sustainable? A cre respnsibility f the internatinal mnetary and financial system is its judgment f the sustainability f a natinal debt. Hw such debt Page 4 Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference

5 sustainability is assessed is essential fr future access by indebted natins t public and private finance, fr example fr the purpse f structural transfrmatin in develping cuntries. This panel will discuss the tls currently available t make such judgments, and hw useful these may be. If refrms are required, which rute shuld they take? p.m. Panel 7: Integrating public debt management within integrated financial management systems Gvernments are increasingly intrducing integrated financial management systems as part f refrm prgrammes t imprve gvernance, cmputerizing key areas f budget executin and accunting peratins acrss gvernment institutins. In mst cases, public finance management systems are maintained as separate systems, which must cmmunicate with integrated financial management systems t ensure the full integratin f the debt management functin within the brader public finance management structure. This panel will discuss lessns learned and best practices in designing, planning and implementing prjects fr the linkage f public debt management systems with integrated financial management systems, and examine the implicatins fr debt managers. WEDNESDAY, 15 NOVEMBER a.m. Panel 8: Debt recrds and peratinal risk The management f debt recrds and peratinal risk has been cnsistently fund t be ne f the mst critical perfrmance areas in public debt management. The absence f a cmprehensive debt database r f a rbust framewrk fr managing the risks invlved with debt peratins can expse Gvernments t severe legal, reputatinal and plitical cnsequences and financial lsses. This panel will examine hw Gvernments can strengthen their debt recrding and management f peratinal risk and the prerequisites fr implementing a rbust peratinal risk management framewrk a.m. Panel 9: Debt recrds and peratinal risk: p.m. Supprt available frm internatinal rganizatins This panel will address the effrts f internatinal and reginal rganizatins t supprt Gvernments in their effrts t imprve debt recrding and peratinal risk management fr public debt. It will take stck f existing supprt and discuss additinal measures that may be required p.m. Clsing f the eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference Clsing remarks by the Directr f the Divisin n Glbalizatin and Develpment Strategies f UNCTAD. Eleventh UNCTAD Debt Management Cnference Page 5