The Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) launched its first West African Local Chapter in Liberia on July 21, 2006.  The launch follows closely on the launch of the PNoWB West Africa Regional Chapter in Bamako, Mali, on June 14-16, 2006.  Additional Local Chapters are planned for Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, on a visit to Africa following the G8 summit, addressed the Liberian legislature on this special occasion:

"...today, I'm proud to announce that the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank Group will launch a chapter here in Liberia. The goal of this Network is to engage parliamentarians - to engage you - in the global dialogue on development, and to provide support for strengthening parliaments, so that they can fulfill their responsibilities.
Already some 800 parliamentarians, representing more than 100 countries, are part of this independent association, and I'm very pleased today to welcome the legislature of Liberia to that distinguished group..."

Paul D. Wolfowitz, Address to Joint Session of the National Legislature, Monrovia, Liberia, July 21, 2006.

To read the full text of his speech to the Liberian Legislature, or to listen to the audio version, click here

Paul Wolfowitz and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Paul Wolfowitz greets a Member of the Liberian Parliament, and a member of the new Liberian Chapter of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB).

For More Information:

Kafu Kofi Tsikata, Communications Specialist, The World Bank Ghana Office

Naye Bathily, Development Policy Dialogue, The World Bank Paris Office

Zuleikha Salim Said, PNoWB Coordinator