Not welcome. Such is the message for 28 NGO representatives ahead of the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF (the International Monetary Fund), which takes place in Singapore on September 17-18.
By excluding these NGOs, the host nation of Singapore has sparked a strong reaction from the Danish Minister of Development Cooperation, Mrs. Ulla Tornaes, who has now issued an official statement through Denmark’s Foreign Ministry.
“An active dialogue with the civilian society plays a very important role in international development cooperation. It is therefore disappointing that Singapore has decided to exclude several accredited civilian organizations from participating in the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF,” states Ulla Tornaes.
On September 13, the EU Presidency has also issued a statement, which underlines the EU’s concern with Singapore’s decision.
“Denmark fully supports this joint statement, which we have also emphasized to Singapore on a bilateral level,” the Danish Foreign Ministry’s statement declares.
The Danish statement goes on to declare that Denmark intends to continue its efforts within the World Bank and the IMF to ensure that the accredited NGO’s can participate in the annual meetings of the organizations.
