PAST EVENT: South Asia Development Update – Jobs for Resilience

The World Bank and the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) had the pleasure of organising a Seminar on the occasion of the launch of the World Bank’s April 2024 “South Asia Development Update – Jobs for Resilience”, which was presented by Franziska Ohnsorge, Chief Economist for South Asia at the World Bank. Dr Ohnsorge was joined by Representatives from the EU Institutions and South Asia to shed light on the different aspects of development in the region given the changing political, economic and societal environment in South Asia. 

The World Bank Report can be downloaded here.
The Presentation by Dr Franziska Ohnsorge can be downloaded here

Date: 10 April 2024
Time: 11:00-12:30
Venue: EIAS Brussels,
Rue de la Loi 26, 10th floor, B-1040 Brussels

South Asia has been the bright spot in the global economy. This panel discussion examined prospects for the region to remain so and explore risks to the outlook, including climate risks. No other emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region is as vulnerable to climate shocks as South Asia. Yet, fragile fiscal positions limit governments’ ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. This puts the burden of adapting to climate change on firms, farms, and households. The panel discussion dived into policies that can help firms, farms, and households to better adapt. One factor that constrains especially households’ and farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change is weak job creation outside the agricultural sector. The discussion explored the obstacles to job creation in non-agricultural sectors and policies needed to remove these obstacles. 

Programme 

10:30 – 11:00 Registration

11:00 – 11:15 Opening Remarks

• Opening Remarks by the Chair: Lin Goethals, Director, EIAS
• Welcoming Remarks: Laurence McLean, External Affairs Officer – European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg and NATO, The World Bank

11:15 – 11:30 Presentation of the World Bank’s April 2024 South Asia Development Update 

• Franziska Ohnsorge, Chief Economist for South Asia, World Bank

11:30 – 12:00 Discussion on South Asia’s Development Path with:

• Libuse Soukupova, Acting Head of the South Asia Unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships

12:00 – 12:30 Interactive Q&A Session with the Audience

12:30 – 13:30 Networking Reception and Light Lunch