Multilateral Development Finance Week 2026

14:00 (CET) | Organised by the Policy Centre for the New South

Panel:

• Otaviano Canuto (Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South)
• Nathalie Delapalme (CEO, Mo Ibrahim Foundation)
• Karim El Aynaoui (Executive President, Policy Center for the New South)
• Hafez Ghanem (Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South)
• Mahmoud Mohieldin (Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations)
• Moderated by: Oumayma Bourhriba (Senior Economist, Policy Center for the New South)

14:00 CET | Organised by Tsinghua University

2:00 PM (CET) | Organised by The Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development (FERDI)

Using concessional windows and various financial instruments, multilateral development banks (MDBs) play a decisive role in financing the poorest and most vulnerable countries. However, as resources become scarcer, allocation trade-offs are becoming more apparent and difficult. 

This webinar will examine the potential consequences of the drop in concessional resources on MDBs' funding allocation, focusing on how vulnerability is taken into account when making allocation decisions.

Round table panel:

• Alexia Latortue (Head of Secretariat, Future of Development Cooperation Coalition)
• Abdoul Salam Bello (Lead Advisor Policy and Operations, Office of the President, African Development Bank)
• Thierry Latreille (Lead Global Technical Advisor, IFAD)
• Ruth Kattumuri (Senior Director of Economic, Youth and Sustainable Development Directorate, Commonwealth Secretariat).

Moderated by Patrick Guillaumont (President, FERDI) with introductory presentations from Henri-Bernard Solignac-Lecomte (Head of Architecture and Analysis Unit, OECD) and Laurent Wagner (Research Officer, FERDI).

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in French and English.

3:30 PM (CET) | Organised by Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

Reductions in predictable and flexible funding affect the ability of multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations development system, to sustain normative work, maintain impartiality, and respond to global crises. These trends also raise questions about the future of multilateral cooperation and the evolving political economy of development finance.

This event brings together experts on UN funding and financing, UN staff and representatives from key member states to reflect on the systemic implications of the current funding crisis.

Panel:

• John Hendra (Senior Adviser, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation)
• Suzanne Steensen (Head of Secretariat, MOPAN)
• Angela Heucher (Senior evaluator, Deval)
• Ronny Patz (Researcher, IDOS)
• Anna Novoselova (Researcher, IDOS)
• Marc-André Franche (Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, United Nations)
• Moderated by Peter Linnér (Programme director, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation)