July 3, 2007— Robert B. Zoellick, the new President of the World Bank, says a key challenge for the institution and its staff is to help all nations, particularly the poorest ones, share in the benefits of "sustainable globalization."
Speaking on his first official day on the job, the 53-year-old veteran diplomat and international banker said globalization was being driven by "two huge developments since the end of the Cold War" - an international labor force that has grown from 1 billion to 4 billion workers and a parallel large savings pool.
These two trends, Zoellick said, were creating many winners among nations, but leaving some, especially in Africa, lagging behind.
"One of the challenges of the Bank today is to help the poorest countries take advantage of these changes…and opportunities," he said.
Zoellick said developed countries "have a real interest in creating success" among the poorest nations.
Talking about his recent tour of Africa, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, Zoellick said: "I am delighted to say there's a very high regard for the Bank and its people, but also recognition that there are new challenges ahead."
He said the leaders of developing nations in Sub-Sahara Africa he spoke with "were interested in social development, but they also wanted to stress the foundations for economic growth and building savings and investment in Africa."
Zoellick was interviewed by the head of the Bank's internal communications unit, after arriving at the Bank's Main Complex, where he greeted by several hundred staff members.
In the interview, Zoellick, an economics and trade expert who served three U.S. presidential administrations over more than 20 years before joining investment bank Goldman Sachs, also talked about himself and his management style.
"By nature, I'm very straightforward," he said. "I'm open, I value multiplicity views, but I also like to have a sense of strategic direction….What I look for in people is a sense of how to combine their knowledge and expertise and experience with a focus on results, and a sense of humility."
As for the Bank itself, he said in closing, "it is not just a knowledge institution, it's a learning institution."
RSS