Debt Conference 2019

UNCTAD organized its 12th Debt Management Conference from 18 to 20 November 2019.

KEYNOTE SPEECH
H.E. Mr. Carl-Hermann Schlettwein, Minister of Finance, Namibia

PANEL 1: THE UNFOLDING DEBT CRISIS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES REVISITED: OVERVIEW AND RECENT TRENDS

Dr. William White, Senior Fellow, C.D. Howe Institute, Canada
Dr. Ramon Moreno, formerly Head of Economics for Latin America and the Caribbean, Bank for International Settlements
Dr. Stephanie Blankenburg, Head, Debt and Development Finance Branch, UNCTAD

PANEL 2: DEBT TRANSPARENCY TO THE RESCUE? POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS

Mr. Mark Flanagan, Assistant Director Strategy Policy and Review Department, Head Debt Policy Division, IMF
Ms. Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director, Institute of International Finance, Washington
Ms. Yuefen Li, Senior Advisor on South-South Cooperation and Development Finance, South Centre, Switzerland
Mr. Tim Jones, Head of Policy, UK Jubilee Campaign, United Kingdom

PANEL 3: DEBT AND THE SECURITIZATION OF DEVELOPMENT FINANCE: USEFUL INNOVATION OR RECIPE FOR MORE TOXIC DEBT?

Mr. Michael Chui, Senior Economist Emerging Markets, Bank for International Settlements, Switzerland
Dr. Daniela Gabor, Associate Professor in Economics, University of West England, United Kingdom
Prof. Jan Toporowski, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, United Kingdom

PANEL 4: LONG-TERM DEBT SUSTAINABILITY AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: BEYOND THE SHORT-TERM PRIORITIZATION OF CREDITOR INTERESTS

Dr. Martin Guzman, Associate Research Scholar, Colombia University, Graduate School of Business, United States of America, and Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ms. Erica Gerretsen, Head Budget Support, Public Finance Management, Domestic Revenue Unit, International Cooperation and Development, Directorate-General for International Development Cooperation, European Commission
Dr. Annalisa Prizzon, Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategy and Finance Programme, Oversees Development Institute, United Kingdom

PANEL 5: MULTILATERAL POLICY RESPONSES I: LONG-TERM DEBT TRAPS AND THE RENEWED RELEVANCE OF DEBT AND DISASTER RELIEF INITIATIVES

Mr. Eric LeCompte, Executive Director, Jubilee Network –USA, United States of America
Ms. Christina Laskaridis, Researcher, School of Oriental and African Studies, United Kingdom
Mr Jürgen Kaiser, Coordinator, Jubilee Campaign Germany

PANEL 6: MULTILATERAL POLICY RESPONSES II: SOVEREIGN DEBT RESTRUCTURINGS – PRACTICAL WAYS FORWARD

Mr. Schwan Badirou Gafari, General Secretary, Paris Club and International Debt Division, Treasury, France
Prof. Odette Lienau, Professor of Law, Cornell University, United States of America
Mr. Peter Kovacs, Policy Officer, Budget Support, Public Finance Management, Domestic Revenue Unit, International Cooperation and Development, Directorate-General for International Development Cooperation, European Commission
Mr. Matthew Martin, Director, Development Finance International, United Kingdom

PANEL 7: OPERATIONALIZING DEBT DATA TRANSPARENCY

M. Thordur Jonasson, Deputy Division Chief, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund, Washington D.C., United States of America
Ms. Pamella McLaren, Adviser and Head, Debt Management Unit, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, United Kingdom
Mr. Adam Mohai, Head of Risk Management Department, Hungarian Debt Management Agency

PANEL 8: RESPONSES FROM DEBT MANAGEMENT OFFICES TO TODAY’S CHALLENGES

Mr. Soungalo Jules Prosper Coulibaly, Director, Public Debt and Grants, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Côte d'Ivoire
Mr. Kokou Dandjinou, Chief of Division, Debt Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Togo

PANEL 9: STRENGTHENING DEBT MANAGEMENT: SUPPORT FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Mr. Stanislas Nkhata, Director, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), Zimbabwe
Ms. Lea Hakim, Senior Economist, Debt Management Facility, World Bank
Mr. Gerry Teeling, Chief, DMFAS Programme, UNCTAD