Today I am blogging from the United States, where I have had a diverse programme, packed with interesting meetings, useful ideas and valuable lessons.
There were three main themes that I want to share with you. The first emerged at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, where I participated, together with several of my fellow commissioners. The Meetings are a global gathering of hundreds of policy-makers, economists, academics, private sector representatives, journalists and activists, who discuss the most pressing issues we face today, and seek workable solutions. Read the full entry
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At Kitaibaraki’s port, boats sit atop each other, next to a two-storey-high pile of cars. The clock at the port’s main office has stopped at 14:48, the time the tsunami hit two weeks ago. In this surreal landscape, the Governor of Ibaraki prefecture, Masaro Hashimoto and I are talking to local fishermen. They are eager to see the port brought back to life, but worry about the news from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant – it is just 70 km from their town, and radiation scare is shutting down the markets for their catch. The fishermen fear that although the rubble will be cleared, the scare will kill their livelihoods. 
