What Is the Development Committee?
The Development Committee (DC) is a ministerial-level forum of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund for intergovernmental consensus-building on development issues. Known formally as the Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries, the Committee was established in 1974.
Members
The Committee has 25 members, usually Ministers of Finance or Development, and who represent the full membership of the Bank and Fund. They are appointed by each of the countries, or groups of countries, represented on the Boards of Executive Directors of the Bank and Fund. The Chairis selected from among the Committee's members and is assisted by an Executive Secretary who is elected by the Committee.
What We Do
Mandate
The Committee's mandate is to advise the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on critical development issues and on the financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries. Over the years, the Committee has interpreted this mandate to include trade and global environmental issues in addition to traditional development matters.
Meetings
The Development Committee meets twice a year; in the spring and in the fall at the time of the joint Bank-Fund Annual Meetings. Its meetings are held in tandem with the meetings of the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) of the Fund. The agenda for the meetings is based on issues recommended by the Chair, the President of the Bank, the Managing Director of the Fund, and the Executive Boards of the Bank and Fund. Given the Committee's focus, the President of the Bank has a special responsibility to propose topics that he believes require the attention of the Governors.The StAR initiative, which was established in 2007, is a partnership between the Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The unit works with client countries as well as with donors to improve the legal framework for asset retrieval, and it provides training, guidance and practical assistance.
Publications
From 1984 to 1995, the Development Committee published a collection entitledDevelopment Issues. Topics ranged from the origins and history of the Development Committee to environment, trade, industry policies, poverty and other development-related issues.
Documents published for the Development Committee meetings such as agendas, reports and statements can also be found in this website.
