World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz embarked Friday on a two-week trip, which will include two of the World Banks largest developing country borrowers, China and Russia, as well as the major donor countries of Japan, Sweden, and Finland (but not Denmark, red.).
This is his first visit to these countries since taking office.
Starting the trip in Tokyo, Mr. Wolfowitz will be meeting with key Japanese officials to discuss the creation of a new intellectual partnership with Japan to share experience, knowledge, ideas and innovation to generate growth and reduce poverty.
– Japan is increasingly focusing on the world beyond Asia, and agencies like the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the world’s largest bilateral donor, will be critical to that effort, Mr. Wolfowitz said.
– I hope that we will be able to make some headway on ways we can cooperate more closely on some bold actions to provide hope and opportunity for people around the world, especially in Africa, added he.
From Tokyo, Mr. Wolfowitz will travel to Chinas rural Gansu province in the western region and then go on to Beijing and the surrounding areas where he will meet with government officials, civil society and women’s groups, and attend the G20 meeting.
One of the Bank chiefs key aims in his visit to China is to learn about that countrys successes – and challenges – in large-scale poverty reduction.
China has brought more than 400 million people above the one-dollar-a-day poverty line over the past two decades alone, a remarkable achievement. Its challenges are equally as significant. China is still home to 18 percent of the world’s poor, and the gap between the rich and poor has been widening over the last two decades.
– China clearly has come a long way. It is now more than just a country that has been successful in expanding its economy and reducing poverty. It is a major global economic force, Mr. Wolfowitz said adding:
– I am looking forward to seeing what the world – and particularly countries in Africa – can learn from China and also to hear more from Chinese people about their own aspirations.
Mr. Wolfowitz will also be meeting with finance ministers and central bankers from around the world at the G20 meeting outside Beijing Oct. 15th. Among the issues on the agenda are global imbalances, migration, and reforms at the Bretton Woods institutions.
In Russia, Mr. Wolfowitz will meet with President Putin, members of his government and representatives of civil society. His trip will focus on the countrys role in the global economy and its contribution to development as it prepares to chair the G8 next year.
He will then proceed to Stockholm and Helsinki, where he will meet with central bank governors from the Nordic and Baltic states and hold talks with parliamentarians from around the world who are members of the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
