Liam Byrne elected Chair of Parliamentary Network on World Bank and International Monetary Fund

The Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill, Liam Byrne, has been re-elected Chair of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & International Monetary Fund and asked by the influential Club de Madrid to take on a new role combating divisive politics and economics.  The World Bank/ IMF Network brings together over 1,400 MP’s in over 140 countries, while the Club de Madrid is the largest forum of former prime ministers and presidents, drawing together former leaders and heads of state from over 70 nations. Liam Byrne said;  “I’m truly honoured to be leading the Parliamentary Network for the next two years and excited by the invitation to be one of twenty parliamentarians on the Club du Madrid “Shared Societies” project. “Over the next two years, the Parliamentary Network has a critical role to play helping countries build back stronger, fairer and greener. The new Board takes office at a critical time when global poverty is rising for the first time this century, new risks from climate change are multiplying and debt levels are acutely high. “Unless, we find shared, collective solutions to these great challenges, we’re going to live in a world that is more and more unsustainable, unequal, and unstable. That’s why we have a crucial task to play helping parliamentarians everywhere learn from each other and help mobilise action from the World Bank and IMF to exit the Covid crisis, step up the fight on poverty and raise the climate finance needed to deliver on the Paris Climate Agreement.  “We seek to engage law makers from around the globe in the common mission of addressing good governance and poverty challenges in both their home countries and abroad. Directed by a twelve-member Board elected by their peers, the Parliamentary Network is an independent non-governmental organization with a secretariat in Paris. “The Shared Societies project of the Club du Madrid will bring together an expert working group formed by political leaders from current and former public administrations at a national or local level.  The aim is to combat divisive rhetoric in public discourse. “We will describe how we can take identity-based tensions and bridge the gaps of polarization and social division in our countries and communities. We will take the lessons from our individual and collective experience to show the benefits of inclusive discourse, to promote policy and formulate recommendations for other leaders.,” explained Liam Byrne. ENDS Notes to Editors The elected candidates to the Board of Governance of The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF for the term 2021-2023 are as follows; Africa Region: Pr. Stephen Sinikiem Aizaki MP, Nigeria Mr. Collins Adomako-Mensah MP, Ghana Mme. Madjara Tiegbana Coulibaly MP, Côte d’Ivoire North America, Europe and Central Asia The Rt Hon. Liam Byrne MP, United Kingdom (Chair) Hon. Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite MP, Portugal Senator Antonio Alarcó, Spain Latin America and the Caribbean Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte MP, Attorney-General, Jamaica South Asia Hon. Gagan Thapa MP, Nepal About the Parliamentary Network The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & International Monetary Fund (the Parliamentary Network) provides a platform for parliamentarians from over 140 countries to advocate for increased accountability and transparency in International Financial Institutions and multilateral development financing. Founded in 2000, the Parliamentary Network seeks to engage law makers from around the globe in the common mission of addressing good governance and poverty challenges in both their home countries and abroad. Directed by a twelve-member Board elected by their peers, the Parliamentary Network is an independent non-governmental organization with a secretariat in Paris. The organization is open to all elected parliamentarians from World Bank member states who hold a current mandate. Parliamentary Network members represent themselves and their constituents, and not their countries, parliaments or governments. About the Club de Madrid The Club de Madrid is the largest forum of over 100 former prime ministers, presidents and heads of state drawn from over 70 countries