Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

A summit between the leaders of the European Union and the Western Balkans partners in Sofia confirmed the European perspective of the region and set out a number of concrete actions to strengthen cooperation in the areas of connectivity, security and the rule of law, on May 17.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to discuss Uzbekistan’s social and economic transformation and to reaffirm the World Bank Group’s support for reforms to accelerate economic growth and boost shared prosperity, on May 17. The meeting in Washington, DC took place on the margins of Mirziyovev’s first official visit to the United States.

On May 10, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) organized, in collaboration with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), a High-Level Workshop on the Withdrawal of Correspondent Banking Relationships (CBRs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a focus on finding solutions. The workshop was held in Pretoria, South Africa, in the margins of a meeting of the Committee of Central Bank Governors in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Australia’s Seasonal Worker Programme is delivering more than just financial benefits to Pacific Island countries, with a new study finding that the scheme is also a factor in bringing about positive social impacts both for families that participate, as well as those that don’t.

The post-2020 EU farm policy must be smarter, simpler, fairer and more sustainable, but also well financed and truly common to continue deliver food security in the EU.

President Donald Trump says the United States has not “folded” in trade negotiations with China as both countries get set for another round of meetings.

The government of Bangladesh signed a financing agreement with the World Bank to help microenterprises adopt cleaner technologies, on May 16.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Alex Mourmouras visited Singapore from May 3 to May 15 to hold discussions in the context of the country’s 2018 Article IV Consultation.

Thailand can strengthen its migration policies and systems to support sustained, innovation-driven growth, under its Thailand 4.0 strategy, experts concluded at a presentation of the recent World Bank report, Migrating to Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Labor Mobility in Southeast Asia in Bangkok, on May 16.

Uganda’s economy is expected to grow at 5.5 percent this year, rising above 6 percent all through to 2019, according to the World Bank’s 11th Uganda Economic Update launched in Kampala, on May 15.