United Nations Radio

Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank says the world can learn lessons from the past as we look forward.

Robert Zoellick

The President made his comments yesterday at the start of the Bank's two-day annual meeting currently underway in Istanbul, Turkey. The President said the World Bank must reform in order to meet the challenges of the today's world. He said the changing world demands a different system that represents the international economic realities of the 21st century for the developed and developing world.

"It needs to engage the energies and support of developed countries whose publics carry a heavy burden of debt, competitive anxieties and feel that the new powers must share responsibilities. It needs to offer a hand to the poorest and weakest countries, the 900 million people who still live without access to clear water and the bottom billion trapped in poverty because of conflict and broken governance."

As a result of the global crisis, the World Bank estimates that 90 million more people will be living in extreme poverty by the end of next year; up to 59 million more people will lose their jobs this year; and an additional 30 to 50,000 infants may die in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank's shareholders supported reforms that would give developing countries at least 47 percent of the voting shares in the institution. The President said shareholders should go beyond this to achieve a 50 percent share for developing countries.

Gail Walker, United Nations Radio
(duration: 1'27")