June 1, 2005—Paul Wolfowitz, the new head of the World Bank Group, says the upcoming G8 summit of the world’s richest countries could mark a new beginning in development assistance for the world’s poor countries, especially in Africa. Wolfowitz, who assumed leadership of the World Bank Group today, underlined the urgent need for action on the development agenda. The July G8 meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, of world leaders – from Britain, the United States, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Russia - he believes should be an important step in generating this momentum. He says he hopes Africa, in particular, is at a “turning point” and that five years from now, people will look back and see a significant number of countries on a path of sustainable development. Wolfowitz’s comments were made in an interview for World Bank staff to mark his official first day on the job at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC. “We have a very busy agenda this year,” Wolfowitz says. “We go straight into some major events starting with the G8 summit in Gleneagles and a lot of expectation, which I think is appropriate for having this be a new era, particularly in terms of development in Africa, where a lot of things seem to have an opportunity to come together.” The new president says the Bank should play a crucial role in the next few years in helping African countries on the path to sustainable development. “There is no other institution that can fill that leadership role the way the Bank can,” Wolfowitz says. In taking over the helm of the organization, Wolfowitz praised the work of his predecessor, James D. Wolfensohn, saying there was no question Wolfensohn had made a difference in the way he mobilized the energy and resources of the institution. “I really look forward to the opportunity to try and lead this institution and build on the legacy that Jim Wolfensohn has left, which is a great legacy, and try to take the Bank to an even higher level and really do something about reducing poverty in the world and helping countries that are not yet on the path of sustainable development to get there.” Wolfowitz says he had been “pleased and excited” upon learning that he had been unanimously confirmed by the Bank Group’s Board of Directors to become the 10th Bank Group president. “I sometimes joke that it’s not a secret that my nomination was controversial,” he says. “That the Board agreed on it unanimously was, I think, a very good sign. And quite seriously I think it’s a sign that development is a unifying mission. “People agree on the importance of poverty reduction and promoting development and this is the world’s leading institution for doing that.” Wolfowitz says he hopes his tenure at the head of the World Bank Group will see a significant change in the landscape for African nations in particular. “Most of all I would hope that we can look back five years from now and say this really was a turning point for Africa – that some significant number of African countries really got themselves on a path of sustainable development and that their example began to lead others who weren’t there yet. And that the world mobilized the resources necessary to help those countries on that path. And that the Bank played a crucial catalyzing role in all that. “And I must say, if five or ten years from now, we can all look back and say this was the year when the whole world got on a path of sustainable development and this trend in the reduction of poverty extended beyond Asia and Latin America to encompass everyone. That would be truly satisfying.” In his first official day on the job, Wolfowitz will hold a global Townhall Meeting with Bank staff. The meeting will be connected live -- via video streaming -- with a number of the Bank’s country offices, representing all the Bank’s regions. |
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