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Jul 1, 2020, 15 tweets

We are live with @DavidMalpassWBG, president of the @WorldBank! Fun fact: Malpass first participated in an AS/COA event 35 years ago.

Today, we'll be talking about emerging markets' COVID-19 response and recovery.

Watch his #2020WCA remarks LIVE: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Before the keynote discussion, @USAmbMex Christopher Landau, whose father, George, served as president of AS/COA from 1985–1993, gave opening remarks highlighting the importance of our organizations and promoting private investment in Latin America. #2020WCA

President @DavidMalpassWBG calls #2020WCA “one of the most dependable, value-added events in Washington," and was already a “must-attend” event for those working on Latin America and the Caribbean when he first started attending in the 1980s.

"This close linkage of fundamentals, exchange rate stability, and sustainable growth is at the core of the resilient recovery that we all desire…We need to look for meaningful steps and actions now…that will mitigate the hammer blow of this pandemic." —@DavidMalpassWBG #2020WCA

There’s no doubt that the health and economic challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean are vast and risks are great, says @DavidMalpassWBG. The World Bank is eager to work with countries to respond to crisis and build a strong recovery process.

#2020WCA

"Our hope is that people in [Latin America and the Caribbean] make strong gains in living standards in the next decade.

"Future generations’ prosperity depends on bold action now."

@DavidMalpassWBG of @WorldBank

Watch his #2020WCA remarks LIVE: as-coa.org/events/2020wca…

1/3 We know the world’s gonna be different after the pandemic. Economics will tell us that there has to be a flow of capital from the old sectors to the new sectors.

@DavidMalpassWBG at #2020WCA

@WorldBank @BancoMundial

2/3 We don’t know yet what all the new sectors are. But if we try to lock in capital into the old sectors … there won’t be enough capital to build into the future. We have to allow and set up systems to allow capital to move, says @DavidMalpassWBG.

#2020WCA

3/3

"The same is true of labor. Labor mobility will be vital Governments can’t create all the jobs needed for the people losing their jobs now."

Watch @DavidMalpassWBG at #2020WCA LIVE: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

How to navigate political and social pressures amid the pandemic?

Latin America has a very strong, pervasive moral fiber that can be built on in times of crisis [and] leaders [should] can tap into that inherent goodness of people, says @DavidMalpassWBG at #2020WCA.

On the economic side, we have to find a way to stop the unfairness in the system that provides the subsidies and the monopolies and barriers to entry that keep people down. We have to have a system that’s more openly embracing to newcomers.

@DavidMalpassWBG at #2020WCA

Each country should look inside itself and say, why is it that our people are so talented and yet they aren’t allowed to take this job because of this rule? Or the tax system disadvantages them for this?

@DavidMalpassWBG at #2020WCA

It used to be that banks wouldn’t lend to new businesses—and certainly not to businesses where the people didn’t look like the banker. That’s been reduced some but it’s still an issue, says @DavidMalpassWBG of @WorldBank.

Watch his #2020WCA remarks LIVE: as-coa.org/events/2020wca…

And that wraps up today's #2020WCA session!

Many many thanks to our keynote @DavidMalpassWBG for his insights, as well as @USAmbMex for his introductory remarks.

The video of today's discussion is available here: as-coa.org/events/2020wca…

Next up in our #2020WCA virtual series, we'll host President of Chile Sebastián Piñera on July 28, and then in August, U.S. NEC Director Larry Kudlow.

Learn more about this year's virtual series here: as-coa.org/washington-con…

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