Annual Meetings

Frequently Asked Questions about the 2021 Spring Meetings (FAQs)

What will be the format for the 2021 Spring Meetings?

• Given the evolving nature of the health crisis and restrictions to travel and mobility, the 2021 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings will be held virtually, leveraging IT and web conferencing capabilities to the fullest. Our overriding priority is to facilitate global cooperation to save lives and jobs and help our members with every available tool to address the effects of the global pandemic health and economic crisis. All of this while ensuring the health and safety of Annual Meetings participants and staff.

Are any officials traveling to Washington to attend the 2021 Spring Meetings?

• Delegates will not attend the Meetings in person. The IMF and the World Bank Group will instead conduct their official consultations and related flagship press briefings remotely. 
• Both institutions remain fully committed to sharing their policy advice and analysis and will maintain a productive dialogue with all stakeholders by leveraging IT and web conferencing capabilities to the fullest. 

What will happen to the meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the Development Committee (DC)?

• The IMF and the World Bank Group will proceed with the meetings of the IMFC and DC. Both Committees will conduct their meetings virtually. 
• Official delegates who will participate in the sessions of the IMFC and DC will receive further instructions from the Secretary and from the office of their Executive Director of their respective institutions.
• Delegates participating in the IMFC meeting can find more information on IMF Connect.

What does a “virtual meeting” format imply?

• This means we will leverage our IT and web conferencing capabilities to the fullest, complemented by our online platforms (such as the World Bank Group and IMF websites and social media accounts), online media briefing centers, and other means of digital communications. We remain fully committed to sharing the IMF and World Bank’s policy advice and analysis in real time and maintaining a productive dialogue with all our stakeholders through a new adaptive format for the Spring Meetings.

What about the release of IMF flagship publications such as the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, and the Fiscal Monitor?

• The IMF’s flagship publications will be released on time through virtual press conferences hosted by the Fund’s Online Media Briefing Center. The schedule for upcoming IMF press briefings is available on the schedule page. To stay up-to-date on the digital schedule, report launches and other highlights, please sign up to the IMF’s special newsletter running during the week of the Meetings.
• The World Bank Group media relations team will communicate the schedule for press briefings ahead of the virtual-only meetings.

Is it necessary to register to participate in the virtual Spring Meetings?

• Registration for the 2021 Spring Meetings is encouraged. By registering for the meetings, you will be invited to create an account for IMF Connect. Registered participants who log in to IMF Connect will have:
• The ability to create a personalized events calendar and subscribe to Meetings related communications.
• The opportunity to make contacts and network virtually with other Meetings participants
• The chance to participate in informal meetings with IMF economists and join online discussion forums.

How can media participate in any of the events?

• Journalists will be able to access press conferences via the IMF’s Online Media Briefing Center and the World Bank’s Online Media Briefing Center. For further information on media access to the various press conferences and to receive broadcast material please contact the media relations teams at the IMF (media@imf.org) and World Bank Group (press@worldbank.org).

How can civil society ensure its voice is still heard if the Annual Meetings will no longer take place in person?

• The World Bank Group and IMF are committed to listening to civil society groups through information sharing, dialogue, and consultation at the global, regional and national levels. We will continue our engagement with civil society as usual outside the Meetings.

What arrangements are you proposing for the Parliamentary Network?

• Parliamentarians and the Parliamentary Network are a core component of the World Bank Group and IMF engagement with the membership. Because we have adapted the 2021 Spring Meetings format, the planned physical meetings of the Parliamentary Network in Washington DC are postponed. The IMF and World Bank Group public affairs teams will continue their engagement with members of the Parliamentary Network through conference calls and other digital forms of communications as needed. 

What happens to the IMF and World Bank Programs of Events/Seminars?

• The IMF and World Bank Programs of Events/Seminars will be conducted via a virtual format.

Is this the first time that the two institutions are implementing contingency plans for the Spring and Annual Meetings? 

• The IMF and World Bank took similar extraordinary steps in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington―by postponing and then shifting policy meetings to another location.