Baroness Chapman used her intervention at the Development Committee plenary in Washington DC on 17 April 2026 to reduce the UK message to two linked tests for the multilateral system: whether the World Bank and IMF can respond quickly to conflict-driven shocks, and whether their governance still reflects the countries they serve. GOV.UK published the remarks on 21 April as the official transcript of the speech delivered at the World Bank Group and IMF spring meetings. (gov.uk)
On the immediate policy question, Chapman argued that conflict reverses development and explicitly connected that point to Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine and to the war in the Middle East. Her argument was that these are not external security events sitting outside development finance. They shape growth, jobs, trade and fiscal stability, and they are precisely the moments when governments turn to the IMF and World Bank for support. (gov.uk)
That reading is reinforced by the accompanying UK governors’ statement, published jointly by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and HM Treasury for the same 113th Development Committee meeting. In that document, the UK says the conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East is feeding through energy markets, food security, displacement and financial stability, and it describes the Bank and Fund as central institutions in any coordinated response. (gov.uk)
Chapman’s remarks also kept the Bank’s longer-term mandate in view. She said the institution must use the stronger crisis tools now available without dropping its focus on jobs and climate change, and she backed an extension of the World Bank climate strategy alongside retention of the 45 per cent climate finance target. The written UK statement makes that position more specific, calling for the Climate Change Action Plan to continue with Paris alignment, Country Climate Development Reports and the 45 per cent target retained as part of the Bank’s operating framework. (gov.uk)
Trade security was folded into the same development argument. Chapman said governments must stand ready to do more if required and must rapidly restore freedom of navigation and trade through the Strait of Hormuz. The written statement goes further, saying disruption in the strait is a major route through which economic damage is spreading and calling for a full reopening as part of a ceasefire and longer-term settlement. (gov.uk)
The second half of the speech moved from crisis response to institutional legitimacy. Chapman described the World Bank and IMF as the apex of the multilateral economic and development system and argued that their ability to act rests on whether member states regard them as legitimate and representative. She repeated a point she said she had made at the previous meeting: countries that rely most heavily on the Bank should hold a greater stake in the decisions that affect them. (gov.uk)
Her immediate example was sub-Saharan African representation. Chapman welcomed the fact that more ministers from the region were present in the room at these meetings, but said that was only an initial step and that the real test is whether they move fully into the decision-making structure. The UK governors’ statement adopts the same line, describing the 2025 shareholding review measures as modest and urging shareholders to assemble a more meaningful reform package before the 2030 review. (gov.uk)
Taken together, the speech suggests the UK is treating governance reform, crisis finance and climate finance as connected questions rather than separate debates. The practical implication is that operational reform alone will not satisfy the UK if voting power and voice remain misaligned, while borrowing countries are being offered public backing for faster crisis deployment and a stronger role in how the Bank is run. That framing is likely to keep governance and climate architecture high on the agenda ahead of the 2030 review. (gov.uk)