Cooperation Canada Reflections on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings

Cooperation Canada recently participated in the 2025 World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C., which served as an important moment for advancing dialogue on development finance and global economic reform.  

Building on the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Spain (FfD4), these meetings provided civil society with an opportunity to engage on issues central to sustainable, inclusive, and accountable development financing.  

On the margins of the Annual Meetings, Canada convened a G7 International Development Ministerial Meeting. As Chair of the Civil7 (C7) in 2025, Cooperation Canada welcomed this platform to convey key recommendations from Canadian and global civil society and to strengthen dialogue with G7 partners. 

The Annual Meetings provided valuable opportunities for engagement with partners from the Government of Canada, the World Bank, the IMF, Canadian and global civil society and philanthropy, including through the CSO Partnership Forum.

Discussions focused heavily on youth employment and private finance.  However, amid growing geopolitical tensions and deepening debt crises across the Global South, the outcomes of the Annual Meetings missed an opportunity to heighten focus on pursuing timely and equitable solutions, including on access to finance, climate action, and gender justice.

A G7 in Times of Crisis 

With regard to the G7 International Development Ministerial, Cooperation Canada commends Global Affairs Canada for continuing the practice of convening a Development Ministerial as part of the G7, especially in this challenging context for the global aid and development architecture.  

We extend our appreciation to Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai for his leadership and ongoing partnership with Canadian civil society, in advancing a principled, inclusive, and forward-looking development agenda. 

At a time when multilateralism faces unprecedented strain, Canada’s leadership, through both the Annual Meetings, the G7 Ministerial, and other key international spaces, is essential to advance collective responsibility for equitable and sustainable development. The G7 emphasis on “fostering partnerships for economic prosperity” does offer pathways to support multilateralism in addressing today’s global challenges.  

The G7 Infrastructure Investment Council, led by FinDev Canada, was also launched, which brings together G7 development finance institutions with a focus on accelerating private capital for infrastructure in emerging and developing economies. Civil society looks forward to engaging with FinDev to ensure that investments contribute to inclusive, sustainable and rights-based development outcomes, including for low-income countries. 

Civil Society’s Priorities for a More Just and Effective Global Agenda 

In our recommendations to the Government of Canada for the G7, Cooperation Canada and its members called for five interconnected commitments to guide Canada’s presidency and shape a more resilient and equitable global system: 

• Safeguard Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a strategic investment in global stability and poverty reduction. On this, we note commitments on reform of the international aid architecture to reduce fragmentation and enhance coherence, effectiveness and impact as well as recognizing the value of ODA in responding effectively to global challenges. 
• Defend and act in line with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and ensure humanitarian access in all conflict-affected contexts. We note the commitment to addressing the urgent humanitarian needs in the Middle East and around the globe including in Haiti, Sudan and Ukraine.  
• Champion reforms of the global financial architecture to enable debt justice and fairer access to finance for low- and middle-income countries. On this, we note Ministers’ commitment to promote debt sustainability and transparency, and to tackle corruption and illicit financial flows in the extractive industries.  

On the following priorities, we look forward to maintaining our dialogue with decision-makers, where Canada must continue to play a leading role: 

• Advance gender justice as a central pillar of economic development, health, education, food security and climate action initiatives. 
• Protect and expand civic space, recognizing it as the foundation of accountable and democratic societies. 

Responsible Trade and Shared Prosperity 

On responsible mining, another key topic during the Ministerial meeting, Cooperation Canada underscored the importance of ensuring that Canada’s commercial partnerships and trade diversification objectives advance shared prosperity while upholding human rights, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, gender equality and environmental sustainability. 

Looking Forward: Partnership and Accountability 

We stand ready to continue working with Global Affairs Canada and the Government of Canada more broadly to translate these priorities into tangible outcomes that advance global justice, human dignity and sustainable development, and thank government partners for the ongoing engagement.