On Wednesday 7 July 2021, starting at 2:00 pm BST(!), Chatham House and TCX will host a webinar on The Role of Debt Management in Achieving Debt Sustainability in Frontier and Emerging Economies.

If you would like to join this webinar, please register here.

Overview
The pandemic and its economic fallout have sharply increased debt vulnerabilities in low and  middle-income economies.  At the same time they continue to need large flows of external development finance, not least to address the long-term costs of the pandemic itself and support the transition to a low carbon economy.  What role can enhanced debt management strategies and capabilities, particularly in relation to foreign exchange risk, play in addressing this enormous challenge?

Opening remarks by Creon Butler, Director, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House and Ruurd Brouwer, Chief Executive Officer, TCX.

In the first part, from 14.00-15.10 BST, Andrea F. Presbitero (SAIS, Johns Hopkins University) and Juan Pradelli, a senior expert in fiscal policy and debt management who has worked at the IMF, will present their new research. Andrea has collected evidence that higher quality debt management capabilities in low-income countries is rewarded by higher net capital inflows, reduced volatility and strengthened domestic capital formation. Juan will present findings on the risk management capacities in representative national Debt Management Offices and the need for capacity building.

These research presentations will be complemented by the perspectives of experienced debt management practitioners from frontier/emerging economies which are facing the challenge of post-pandemic debt fragility, including the contribution of foreign exchange exposure: Joy Gessa, Principal Economist, Debt Policy and Issuance Department, Directorate of Debt and Cash Policy, Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Uganda, Odilbek Isakov, Deputy Minister of Finance, Republic of Uzbekistan, Patricio Merlani, Former Undersecretary of Finance, Argentina, and Chief Financial Officer of Fonplata Development Bank and Polina Yarova, Director of the Debt Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, Ukraine.

The second part of the webinar, from 15.15-16.15 BST, will begin with a senior expert panel moderated by Sony Kapoor, Managing Director, RE-DEFINE and Young Global Leader, WEF, looking at the policy implications and recommendations resulting from the evidence presented in the first part.

Confirmed panelists include Erica Gerretsen, Acting Director DG for International Partnerships, European Commission, Dr Yougesh Khatri, Associate Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House, Lupin Rahman, Head of EM Sovereign Credit, PIMCO, Miguel Savastano, Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF, and Haje Schütte, Senior Counsellor and Head of Financing for Sustainable Development Division, OECD.

The panel will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A with the audience. If you would like to join us, please register using the registration link above!

TCX would like to thank the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for the financial support for this conference and the underlying research.