World Bank’s president to visit Africa

By Sulaimon Olanrewaju - 25.01.2008

World Bank’s president, Mr. Robert B. Zoellick, will begin his first official visit to Africa this week. He will travel to Mauritania, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.

According to a release by the bank, this visit follows a successful replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), which will allow the bank and its partners to expand and deepen their support to Africa, building on last year’s record $5.7 billion commitment to Africa by IDA and another $1.6 billion by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank group’s private sector arm.

During his visit to Ethiopia, Mr. Zoellick will participate in the 10th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) as the first World Bank President to speak at a summit of African heads of state and governments.

The AU and the World Bank are increasingly working together on a number of issues including regional integration, governance, post-conflict countries, and engaging the Africans in diaspora in the development of the continent.

Zoellick’s presence at the AU summit will be an opportunity to further strengthen the relation between the two institutions. Mr. Zoellick will also meet with African heads of state and the heads of other international institutions in Addis Ababa to discuss the Millennium Development Goals, agricultural development, and the impact of increased food prices on the poor.

Before arriving in Ethiopia, Mr. Zoellick will visit Mauritania and Liberia. In Mauritania, which stands as a bridge between sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, Zoellick will meet with President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and key government officials to discuss how the World Bank Group can support Mauritania’s transition to a middle income country.