The President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has said that developing countries are not immune from the uncertainties of the world economy.
Kim, who spoke on Thursday at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Annual meeting in Tokyo, Japan, said inasmuch as the developing countries are contributing in a big way to the world economy, they should not feel they will not be affected by the slide in the economy.
He said for this reason, there was the need to find ways of helping developing economies cope with the downturn in world economy.
Kim told a news conference preceding the IMF/World Bank meeting: “We are in challenging times. Food prices remain high and volatile; growth in high-income countries is weak; and developing countries, which have been the engine of growth, will not be immune to the increased uncertainty in the global economy.
“The economic announcements emanating in recent weeks have been sobering. Everyone is vulnerable during times of uncertainty, but especially the poor who have few, if any, safety nets and resources and live from day to day. Our job at the World Bank Group now is to make sure the growth over the last five years that we’ve seen in developing countries in Africa and Latin America and Asia is not destroyed by further worsening in the situation.
“As part of starting a dialogue around barriers and solutions to ending poverty, the World Bank has launched a global online conversation: a “What Will it Take to End Poverty” campaign in the lead up to these meetings. We are crowd-sourcing ideas and comments through social media and video. It’s a great way to drive a conversation around real, practical results.
“Because ultimately this is about results. I am asking our teams – ‘what can we do to fundamentally change the arc of history to end absolute poverty more quickly than it is currently predicted.’
“It’s our job to have a catalytic effect on poverty. The good news is that around the institution the World Bank Group, the answer has been a very strong yes, we can bend the arc of history. That’s why we came to work at the World Bank – we want to fight poverty and we want to make a difference in history. It’s been my life’s work and I’ve worked in situations of great poverty and this organization is embracing this fundamental mission.”
Kim said the World Bank can do more than it is doing now to help world economy grow further.
He said the bank only needs to focus more on delivery.
He said: “I’ve been on the job for 104 days. While I’m excited by how much the Bank has changed around openness and results and accountability, I believe the Bank can go further. We need to be more nimble and focused on delivery. During these meetings I’ll not only share my thoughts on areas of reform, I’ll listen to the views of our stakeholders, and look for ways to enact effective reforms.”
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