A senior delegation from the IAA was in Switzerland recently to visit a number of Geneva-based international organizations.

President Paul Thornton was accompanied by:

Alvaro Castro-Gutierrez, Chairperson, Population Issues Working Group
Howard Bolnick, Chairperson, Microinsurance Working Group
Ken Buffin, Chairperson, Supranational Relations Subcommittee
Roland van den Brink, Vice-Chairperson, Supranational Relations Subcommittee
Philippe Maeder, former Chairperson, Supranational Relations Subcommittee

A full day Discussion Forum was held on social security and microinsurance topics with representatives of:

International Labour Office (ILO)
International Social Security Association (ISSA)
Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM)

This was followed by a detailed working session with the ILO Microinsurance Innovation Facility, and separate meetings with senior leadership of ILO and ISSA.

Productive meetings were also held with senior representatives of:

World Trade Organization (WTO), in connection with the General Agreement on Trade in Services as it relates to financial services, and
The Geneva Association, on global issues including systemic risk.

These useful meetings provided our counterparts with details of the actuarial profession’s resources and the potential contribution to our shared objectives, which should lead to better coordination and use of resources. Our upcoming Newsletter will feature more details on the meetings’ outcomes.

The purpose of these outreach activities arises from the key objectives of the IAA Strategic Plan that include establishing, maintaining and extending cooperative relationships with major supranational organisations, with a particular emphasis on those areas where actuarial input is a significant factor influencing decisions on important social and economic issues with a global impact.