The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank on Monday said they would postpone plans to hold their 2022 annual meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco, until October 2023, because of uncertainty about the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s annual meetings will instead take place in Washington DC in October, the two global institutions said in a joint statement, citing consultations with the government of Morocco.
The IMF and World Bank initially planned to hold the 2021 annual meetings in Morocco, but postponed those plans in November 2020 because of the pandemic.
The annual meetings are usually held for two consecutive years at the World Bank and IMF headquarters in Washington DC, and then in a member country every third year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown those plans into disarray.
The World Bank and IMF have held virtual spring and fall meetings since the pandemic began in late 2019, although the 2021 meetings in Washington in October included some in-person gatherings.
The format of the spring meeting in April is under discussion, spokes persons for the World Bank and IMF said. “We hope that we can have hybrid meetings but the exact format depends on health and travel conditions,” they said.
In the past, the IMF and World Bank meetings drew some 10,000 participants, including finance ministers, central bankers, private sector executives, civil society, media and academics.