The organisations

ILO – International Labour Organisation: The ILO was established back in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference. Today it is a specialised agency that operates as part of the United Nations with its headquarters in Geneva. The core concern of the International Labour Organisation is to promote both social justice and fundamental rights worldwide. 187 nations currently belong to the ILO.

IMF – International Monetary Fund: The IMF has its headquarters in Washington DC in the United States of America and is a specialised agency operating as part of the United Nations (UN). The fund was founded after the end of the Second World War in December 1945. The IMF currently has 189 member states. The primary objective of the IMF is to promote economic policy cooperation and the stability of the international monetary system with the aim of bolstering international trade so as to secure income and employment. To this end, the IMF monitors the economic development and policies of its member countries and provides them with financial assistance if they encounter balance-of-payments difficulties, subject to economic policy conditions.

OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development: The OECD has 38 member states and is based at Château de la Muette in Paris. In addition to a high per capita income among their populations, member states share a commitment to democracy and a market economy. The OECD was founded in 1961 and pursues three goals:

• optimum economic development, high employment and increasing living standards.
• members commit to stimulating economic growth at home and in developing countries
• world trade on a multilateral basis

World Bank: Also headquartered in the US capital of Washington DC, the World Bank was originally founded in late 1945 to provide financial assistance to countries devastated by World War II. Today, the World Bank has 189 member states and five independent organisations:

• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• International Development Association (IDA)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

WTO – World Trade Organisation: The WTO emerged from the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in 1995 and is based in Geneva. The core concerns of the WTO are free and fair trade relations among its 164 member states, especially with regard to the dismantling of trade barriers, and its role as an independent arbitrator of disputes in the event of conflict. 

AfDB – African Development Bank: Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, the AfDB is one of five multilateral development banks worldwide, along with the World Bank. As the most important development finance institution on the African continent, it pursues the overarching goal of reducing poverty by promoting sustainable economic development and social progress in its 80 member states. To this end, it provides investment funds, political consultation and technical assistance to support development efforts.

The representatives

Guy Ryder – studied social and political sciences at Cambridge before embarking on a career in various British trade union organisations. Between 2006 and 2010, he served as General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), after which he moved to the International Labour Organisation, where he became Director General in 2012.

Kristalina Georgieva – After studying political economy and sociology and obtaining a PhD in economics, Georgieva taught at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. She moved to the World Bank in 1993, where she went on to become Vice-President from 2008 to 2010. From 2014 to 2016, she was Vice-President of the EU Commission responsible for Budget and Human Resources, having previously been EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. She has been Acting Managing Director of the IMF since 1 October 2019.

Mathias Cormann – has been Secretary General of the OECD since 1 June 2021. He was born in Eupen, Belgium, in 1970 and studied law at the University of Namur and KU Leuven before emigrating to Australia in 1996. There he was Australian Minister of Finance, Leader of the Government in the Australian Senate and Senator for the State of Western Australia. As Secretary General of the OECD, he aims to ensure rapid economic recovery after the coronavirus crisis and advance the goal of global greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050.  

David Malpass – is an economist who was elected President of the World Bank in April 2020. He previously worked for Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush in various positions at the US Treasury. He then founded an economic analysis firm before President Donald Trump appointed him Secretary of State for International Affairs at the US Treasury in early 2017. 

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – has been Director-General of the WTO since 1 March this year, making her both the first woman and the first African to hold the post. Previously, the 66-year-old development economist from Nigeria was Minister of Finance and Economy and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as having worked for the World Bank for 21 years. Okonjo-Iweala is also chairperson of the global vaccination alliance GAVI and in July was appointed the African Union’s special envoy for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic on the continent.

Dr Akinwumi Adesina – the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), comes from Nigeria and holds a PhD in agricultural science. As Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, he implemented reforms and drove innovative agricultural investment programmes. He was previously President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) and Vice-President for Policy and Partnerships of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).