Governing Council

The Governing Council of IFAD is the Fund’s principal Governing Body having full decision-making powers. It consists of all of IFAD’s Member States and meets annually. It is attended by the official Member State Representatives, i.e., Governors, Alternate Governors and any other designated advisers. Observers are also invited to attend sessions. These Observers are Representatives from non-IFAD Member States that have applied for Membership to the Fund, the Holy See, the Sovereign Order of Malta and those United Nations Specialized Agencies, Intergovernmental Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations whose Observer status has been approved by the Fund’s Executive Board.

All powers of the Fund are vested in the Governing Council which takes decisions on such matters as approval of new membership, appointment of the President of IFAD, matters pertaining to the permanent seat of the Fund, approval of the Administrative Budget and adoption of broad policies, criteria and regulations.

The Governing Council Sessions are chaired by the Chairperson of the Governing Council Bureau which is composed of, for a two-year term, a Chairperson and two Vice‑Chairpersons elected from among the Governors of the Member States of the Fund.

As per Rule 12, paragraph 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Governing Council, the “Governing Council shall at alternate annual sessions elect from among the Governors a Bureau consisting of a Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen who shall serve for two years and shall hold office until their successors are elected.”

Current Composition

IFAD List A

Member
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russian Federation
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States

IFAD List B

Member
Algeria
Gabon
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Kuwait
Libya
Nigeria
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

IFAD List C1

Member
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gambia (The)
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
United Republic of Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe

IFAD List C2

Member
Afghanistan
Albania
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cambodia
China
Cook Islands
Croatia
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Fiji
Georgia
India
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Marshall Islands
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Mongolia
Montenegro
Myanmar
Nauru
Nepal
Niue
North Macedonia
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Samoa
Serbia
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka
Syrian Arab Republic
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Türkiye
Tuvalu
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Yemen

IFAD List C3

Member
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas (The)
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay

Vote By Correspondence

News related to this meeting

New appointment announcement
by Alvaro Lario
I am pleased to announce that. after a competitive recruitment process, I have appointed Ms.Diane Menville to the position of Associate Vice-President for the Financial Operations Department (FOD).
To read the full communication and in the four official languages of the fund, please click the following links: [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

20 days ago (22/04/2025)
Distinguished Representatives,

Ukraine’s application to join IFAD as a non-original member was approved by the Governing Council during its forty-sixth session. With Ukraine having deposited its instrument of accession with the UN Secretary-General on 22 October 2024, we are pleased to announce that Ukraine is now a fully-fledged member of the IFAD family and our 179^th Member State!
The Office of the Secretary remains actively engaged with prospective new Member States. We are proud to see IFAD’s membership continue to grow and look forward to welcoming additional members in the future.

Highest consideration,

Office of the Secretary
To read the communication in the four official languages of the Fund, please click the following links [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

6 months ago (06/11/2024)
Distinguished Representatives,
It is my pleasure to inform you that the new iteration of our global multilingual website, ifad.org, has been launched a few days ago.
Warmly,
Katherine Meighan
Chief Legal and Governance Officer, Associate Vice-President External Relations Department (a.i.)
To read the full communication, click here [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

7 months ago (08/10/2024)
New appointment announcements
by Alvaro Lario
I am pleased to announce that following a comprehensive recruitment process, I have appointed Ms. Pieternel M. Boogaard as Managing Director, Office of Technical Delivery.
To read the full communication please click here.

8 months ago (25/09/2024)
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next ›