From September 12 to 13, 2022, “Launch of IDA20” hosted by the Government of Japan and the World Bank was held at Congrès Square Nihonbashi in central Tokyo. Attendees from some 40 countries came to Japan and gathered at the venue, making this one of the first opportunities for international attendees to discuss the issues face-to-face since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Congrès Inc. was in charge of the meeting operations.

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) is one of the largest sources of funding for fighting extreme poverty in the world’s 74 lowest-income countries. IDA provides grants and zero- or low-interest loans to countries for projects and programs that boost economic growth, build resilience, and improve the lives of poor people around the world. Since 1960, IDA has provided about $458 billion for investments in 114 countries. (Source: The World Bank official website)

The IDA20 financing cycle runs from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025, with a focus on “Building Back Better from the Crisis: Towards a Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Future.” IDA20 will also continue to work closely with countries to achieve their long-term development goals such as gender equality and job creation, with a continued emphasis on governance and institutions, and bridging the digital divide to foster economic transformation and social inclusion.

Japan is the second largest donor to IDA20, contributing $3.4 billion. The IDA20 policy package reflects Japan’s development policy priorities such as strengthening global health (prevention of pandemics, universal health coverage (UHC), etc.), quality infrastructure, addressing climate change and ensuring debt transparency and sustainability.

At this conference, Mr. David Malpass, World Bank Group President and Mr. SUZUKI Shunichi, Minister of Finance of Japan gave their respective remarks, stated below.

Mr. David Malpass, World Bank Group President
“The World Bank and its partners are committed to providing support to poor countries in their efforts to respond to the ongoing crises. We are grateful to Japan’s leadership in championing a strong IDA20 replenishment and hosting the launch, and to all our partners for their support of IDA as a non-fragmented and efficient platform to deliver the greatest results.”

Mr. SUZUKI Shunichi, Minister of Finance of Japan
“The historic agreement of IDA20 represents our unwavering willingness to help developing nations achieve development goals. As the international community faces multiple crises, we are convinced that cooperating with one another and sharing knowledge and experience are the wisdom that humanity has acquired through its history, and IDA will play an even more important role as the World Bank Group and international community work together.”

The attendees from various countries, gathering face-to-face in Tokyo after a long interval due to COVID-19, enjoyed communicating during the coffee breaks in the venue’s 2nd and 3rd floor foyers. Also, immersive experience monitors were set up in the foyer displaying everyday scenery and streetscapes in Kenya and Madagascar, through which the attendees could experience those countries as if they were actually there. They could see the same contents on their smartphones as well by accessing a QR code distributed at the venue.

Congrès Inc. carried out the operations of this meeting at Congrès Square Nihonbashi, injecting our best efforts to ensure this would be a fruitful and productive conference for everyone involved, especially for the many attendees from abroad.

Attendees had not been able to meet face-to-face for some time and international conferences tended to be held online. For the Congrès staff operating the meeting, the fact that this global organization’s conference was realized in Tokyo, and watching the participants passionately catching up with colleagues from diverse parts of the world, made us appreciate anew the value of live conferences.