March 15, 2000
The World Bank today hosted United Nations Ambassadors from 30 countries in an effort to enhance partnership between the two institutions. The meeting, only the third ever between the Bank's Board and members of the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), enabled World Bank Executive Directors and UN Ambassadors to engage in a focused dialogue on specific issues of mutual concern.
"No development agency can address the challenge of development alone; only in partnership with governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations can we begin to deal with these issues. The poor are assets, not liabilities. We need to loosen bureaucratic constraints and empower the poor to join in meeting the challenge," World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn said during his remarks last night at a reception and dinner welcoming the Ambassadors.
Topics addressed included Financing for Development; Update on Poverty Reduction Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) and its linkages with Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSP) and the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative; Current Issues in Microfinance, Recent Developments in Knowledge Management, and Intensified Action against HIV/AIDS - Update on UN/World Bank collaboration. The ECOSOC President, H.E. Dr. Makarim Wibisono, Permanent Representative of Indonesia, headed the delegation.
The "Financing for Development," session, was chaired by World Bank Vice President for External Affairs and United Nations Affairs Mats Karlsson, and the lead speakers were H. E. Mr. Asda Jayanama, UN Ambassador from Thailand, H. E. Mr. Jergen Bejer, UN Ambassador from Denmark, and World Bank Senior Advisor on Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Amar Bhattacharya. Participants addressed a range of themes on the creation of a more stable international financial system, responsive to the challenges of development, especially in developing countries. The promotion of economic and social equity in the global economy was another topic discussed.
In the session entitled "Update on Poverty Reduction," chaired by World Bank Executive Director for Russia and Dean of the Bank's Board Andrei Bugrov, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Masood Ahmed provided an "Update on Poverty Reduction," highlighting the CDF and its linkages with PRSP and the HIPC initiative. H. E. Mr. Gelson Fonseca, Jr. and H. E. Mr. Stewart Eldon, UN Ambassadors from Brazil and the United Kingdom, respectively, were the lead speakers from the UN in response to the presentation, and World Bank staff were on hand to present the Bank's perspective.
A session was held entitled "Current Issues in Microfinance." World Bank Vice President for Private Sector Development and Infrastructure Nemat Shafik chaired the session, and World Bank Lead Specialist in Africa William Steel presented an overview of achievements and future strategies for the Bank's microfinance operations. At the close of this session, participants took a brief tour of the Bank's Distance Learning Center as an introduction to the next session on "Knowledge Management."
In the final presentation and discussion for the day, "Intensified Action against HIV/AIDS - Update on UN/World Bank collaboration," chaired by World Bank Vice President for the Human Development Network Eduardo Doryan, World Bank Lead Specialist on Population for the Africa Region and expert on AIDS in Africa Debrework Zewdie updated participants on recent Bank programs and initiatives, including the areas of cooperation with UN agencies. H. E. Mr. M. Martin Belinga-Eboutou, UN Ambassador from Cameroon and Senior Vice President ECOSOC, was the lead speaker from the UN in response to the presentation.
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