October 15, 2007—Finance and development ministers from around the world this week weigh in on the robust development strategy set forth by the World Bank Group.
President Robert B. Zoellick outlined his strategic priorities in a speech last week calling for more inclusive and sustainable globalization to make sure the bottom billion poorest people share more of the benefits of global economic growth.
The event’s centerpiece is the joint Bank-IMF Development Committee meeting October 21. Discussions at the meeting will go to heart of the World Bank Group mission to end poverty worldwide by building consensus on development issues and advising the Boards of Governors of the Bank and Fund on the financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries. The Development Committee agenda focuses on::
The strategic direction of the World Bank Group
Strengthening the role of the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s principal financing tool for 80 of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries, 39 of which are in Africa.
In addition, the Development Committee’s 24 members, some representing blocks of countries, will also hear about progress the Bank is making in programs to slow climate change and bring clean energy to developing countries.
Delegates will also receive papers on other important development issues including: debt relief, global public goods, aid for trade, scaling up assistance to developing countries, Bank lending to middle income countries, and voice and participation in developing and transition countries.
Zoellick is expected to reinforce the need for poor people to benefit from an increasingly globalized economy through anti-poverty programs, environmentally sustainable growth, and social development.
Zoellick’s vision, as outlined in the October 10 speech marking his first 100 days in office, includes:
Scaling up development in the poorest countries
Expanding programs in middle-income countries
Playing a bigger role in addressing global problems such as climate change
A key element of the strategy is replenishing IDA—the fund that disburses US$8-9 billion year in interest-free loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries. At Zoellick’s request, the Bank’s Board recently agreed to double the World Bank Group’s own contribution to IDA to US$3.5 billion. Half of the money has been pledged by the Bank’s private-sector arm the International Finance Corporation and half by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which provides loans and assistance to middle-income countries
Zoellick has challenged the G8 and other developed countries to fulfill commitments to increase aid to IDA countries, many of whom are in danger of not meeting their 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and achieving universal primary education. IDA’s adaptability and quick disbursements have been particularly beneficial in post-conflict countries such as Bosnia, Rwanda, and Mozambique, noted Zoellick.
Another key part of the Bank’s strategy going forward, under review by the Development Committee, is enhancing relationships with and expanding financial and technical services to middle-income countries, home to 70 percent of the world’s poor. To that end, the Bank’s Board recently agreed to simplify IBRD loans and cut rates back to the pre-Asian crisis level.
The planned expansion of Bank services to middle-income countries includes working with subnational authorities to foster growth that reaches down to the grass roots level, and developing insurance market facilities like the Bank’s Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility to lower the cost of coverage for natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
The strategy also recommends increased investments in agriculture, especially in Africa. The Bank’s World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development, to be released October 19, finds that GDP growth from agriculture benefits the poorest four times more than growth in other sectors. The report also warns that the goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 will not be reached unless the neglect and underinvestment in the agricultural and rural sectors over the past 20 years is corrected.
The strategy also calls for the Bank to encourage low-carbon growth in middle-income countries and help protect global public goods that transcend national boundaries and benefit multiple countries and citizens.
More than 100 civil society organizations and 550 journalists are expected to attend the Annual Meetings.
