Commonwealth Finance Ministers to meet on 6 October in Washington DC

Finance Ministers will gather for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) on 6 October 2016, at the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, USA.

This year’s CFMM will focus on topical issues arising from the international response to the Panama Papers as well as practical action to enhance Commonwealth access to climate finance and new financial instruments to help countries manage climatic shocks. 

The Finance Minister of India, Shri Arun Jaitley, will chair the discussions.

Professor Lord Stern, I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government, at the London School of Economics will deliver the keynote address on the economics of climate change, and the opportunities and challenges with financing climate adaptation and mitigation activities.

Lord Stern was the Head of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a landmark study released by the Treasury of the UK Government in October 2006. This Review, which assesses a broad range of evidence on the impacts of climate change and its economic costs, has since become one of the most influential reports on climate change.

Senior officials will meet on 5 October 2016, ahead of the ministerial meeting, to discuss practical action to advance domestic revenue mobilisation and diaspora finance flows, informed by member states’ experiences.

The meeting of Commonwealth Central Bank Governors, also held on 5 October, will focus on the impact of de-risking, the sharing of national and regional policy responses as well as action that should be taken by the international community. Governors will have the opportunity to engage with the US Treasury on this issue.

Central Bank Governors will also have the opportunity to provide their individual and regional perspectives on the impact of ‘Brexit’ and specifically the challenges it poses for monetary policy. The meeting will be chaired by Governor Enari from the Central Bank of Samoa.

The outcomes of these two meetings will feed into the CFMM agenda.