=================================================================

Managing Globalization: World Bank Can Assist The Private Sector.

=================================================================

"Readers of Daniel Altman's Managing Globalization IHT blog were recently asked to submit questions for Robert Zoellick, the President of the World Bank. Here are excerpts from their questions and his answers.

Question: I live in a country with dire discrepancies across its territory in terms of infrastructure, access to water, energy and health care. Can you elaborate on the World Bank experience in assisting governments and leaders that you think display a blatant lack of strategy, let alone vision? And if it is the policy of the World Bank to deal only with government and not criticize them, can you say it is a viable credible institution in a networked economy?

El Aid El Othmani Nabil - Morocco

Answer: Under our international legal charter, the World Bank Group works with governments and is owned by governments. Unless governments have ownership of reforms and projects supported by the Bank, they will not implement them effectively. Yet we can also work with the private sector. The World Bank Group's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), provides equity and loan financing, as well as technical assistance to private investors in our client countries. ...

Perhaps the best way to consider how the World Bank Group can help is to see it as offering three complementary services: (i) providing learning and knowledge based on experience from around the globe (a "brain trust" of development experience); (ii) based on this learning, we help develop markets and support institutions so the benefits of the work will extend beyond individual projects; and (iii) providing finance to spur these activities. We customize the mix of these services according to countries' individual situations and preferences.

We need a constructive two-way dialogue with our partners. We provide advice based on our global experience, testing and technical reviews. But we also need to listen to views from governments and citizens in client countries, so we learn their priorities, constraints and experiences.

We do speak up when we have concerns or perceive mistakes or things going wrong. Yet, to be effective, we need to try to work with countries as partners while being candid and sharing concerns, especially where we see problems of poor governance or corruption. At some point, we may need to revisit our engagement with a particular government or in some sectors of a particular country. We try, however, to consider ways to keep helping the poor and disadvantaged, or position ourselves to do so in the future, so as not to add to their sufferings.

Question: Citizens in developing countries are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate changes now in progress on a global scale. The changes in the weather patterns, from droughts to flooding, will affect the poorest in those countries. How is the World Bank dealing with the phenomenon of unprecedented climate change in its poverty reduction strategy, if at all? Rita Chang - Hong Kong

Answer: ...you are correct...poor countries are much more likely to be affected by droughts, poor crop yields, floods, hurricanes and wind storms - likely consequences of climate change....Climate change is not only an immense environmental threat; it is a core development and economic challenge. This is why at the recent Bali conference on climate change, I outlined how the World Bank Group can support developing countries as they combine growth and development with protection of the environment. ...First, by integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation into core development work.... Second, we can help by providing innovative and below-market rate financing to promote investments both in low-carbon and adaptation projects. We already do this through the Global Environment Facility and Carbon Finance...Third, we will pioneer and advance new market and trading mechanisms, such as for carbon trading. Fourth, recognizing the vital importance of new technologies that can generate energy while limiting the impact on climate, we are working with partners on new financing and incentives schemes to facilitate technology deployment and transfer to developing countries....

Fifth, the sums involved are too large to handle with public funds, so we need to encourage policy changes to help create an enabling environment to tap resources from the private sector. IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, can help spur these investments....Sixth, we will work with developing countries to support policy research on climate change and development to help share information and tools for analyzing the impacts and developing cost-effective strategies...Finally, if we are able to advance these six activities, we should have the experience and knowledge to play a supportive role to the UN and the negotiating partners as they develop a new climate change agreement.

[The International Herald Tribune]

=================================================================

India Must Tackle Oil, Infrastructure Woes - World Bank.

=================================================================

"India needs to alleviate infrastructure constraints if it wants to sustain economic growth of 9 percent and should let the impact of record oil prices feed through to the economy, Shantayanan Devarajan, South Asia Chief Economist at the World Bank...said. ...

India must tighten spending to cut its fiscal deficit... he told Reuters in an interview late on Monday. ...High oil prices, which recently touched a record $100 a barrel in global markets, were a threat to the Indian economy, but this could be managed, Devarajan said. ... [India] has been issuing bonds to state-run oil firms to partially compensate them for selling fuel at government-set prices, which are a cost to the budget. ... 'Whenever you subsidize oil and price of oil goes up, it creates fiscal problems, no question about that. The best way to manage an oil shock is to pass the oil price increase to consumers,' he said. ...

The World Bank economist expects India to focus on expenditure management in the next budget, due in February. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]

=================================================================

Nigeria To Set Up New Body To Monitor Corruption.

=================================================================

"Nigeria plans to set up a new body to monitor suspicious transactions to strengthen its fight against corruption in the public sector, President Umaru Yar'Adua said on Tuesday. ...

The new body, modeled on similar systems in the US and China, will monitor money flows by sharing information among prosecutors, police and banks, Yar'Adua said. 'You must tackle the system and leave no room for people to be tempted,' a statement from the presidency quoted Yar'Adua as saying at a meeting with the World Bank Vice President for Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, in ...Abuja. ..." [Reuters/Factiva]

Nigeria First writes that Yar'Adua "...said his administration is ready to wage a serious and sustainable war against corruption and would live by example with his own conduct and activities subjected to close monitoring. ...Yar'Adua told the World Bank officials that all the anti-graft agencies have been given free hands to carry out their functions without hindrance. ...

Earlier, Ezekwesili had expressed readiness of the World Bank to provide technical assistance to Nigeria in the area of power sector and provision of other critical infrastructure. She told the President that Nigeria had received over $2billion as part of the partnership activities and support in the past eight years, and spoke about the Bank's delight that the Administration had continued with the reforms. The World Bank Vice President also drew attention to the need to sustain the current macro-economic stability and improve infrastructure. ..." [Nigeria First /Factiva]

Meanwhile This Day reports that "A consortium of Nigerian banks has promised to support the $364 million National Special Program on Food Security (NSPFS) expansion program. ...

[National Food Reserve Agency, Director-General, Salisu Ngawa] said the consortium comprised of UBA, First Bank of Nigeria and Unity Bank... pledged to provide a substantial part of the money toward achieving the target, adding that 40 percent of the money was expected to come from foreign donor agencies, with World Bank leading the group. ..." [This Day (Nigeria)/Factiva]

=================================================================

UN 'Civilization' Forum Launched To Bridge Divide Between Cultures.

=================================================================

"World leaders and personalities from some 60 countries Tuesday launched a new UN forum aimed at averting the 'predicted clash of civilizations' in the wake of September 11 and other terror attacks.

The first Alliance of Civilizations Forum seeks to 'mobilize those great majorities of the population who want to, and know how to, live in peace...,' Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in an inaugural speech. ...The two-day gathering is to announce initiatives aimed at promoting greater understanding between cultures. ..." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

AP notes that "... 'Never in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among and between nations,' UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday as he opened the two-day meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations. ...

The alliance has set education, migration, the media and youth as its four areas for special attention. The two-day meeting features workshops on issues ranging from building cross-cultural understanding of conflict prevention, religion and politics at the community level. ..." [The Associated Press/Factiva]

IHT reports that "...Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, chairwoman of the Qatar Foundation, announced a plan at the meeting Tuesday to invest $100 million in setting up a global youth employment initiative involving corporations, major multilateral organizations and governments. ..." [The International Herald Tribune]

In a separate piece, AFP writes that "...Queen Noor of Jordan unveiled a $100 million fund to back major film productions that help combat stereotypes. The fund will 'support the production and distribution of ...films that will enhance the connections that already exist between different societies, but are seldom noted on screen and in popular culture,' she said. ...

Another project is a Rapid Response Media Mechanism, aimed at reducing tensions in times of cross-cultural crises. 'If a new crisis erupts on this front, a rapid response mechanism will furnish voices of reason to reporters and producers around the world,' said Ban. ..." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

=================================================================

India's SJVN Signs Loan Agreement With World Bank For Hydro Project.

=================================================================

"Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on Tuesday signed a loan agreement for $400 million with the World Bank for funding 412-MW Rampur Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh.

The agreement was signed ...by SJVN chairman and Managing Director H K Sharma and World Bank Country Director Isabella Guerrero. SJVN, a joint venture between the central government and Himachal Pradesh government, is setting up the Rampur Hydro Electric Project. The project is an extension of 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Electric Power Station, India's largest hydro electric plant in operation. ..." [Asia Pulse/Factiva]

The Press Trust of India adds that "...Rampur Hydro Electric Project is slated to be commissioned by January 2012, within the 11th plan, period and shall generate 1,770 million units of electricity each year, an official release said.

Himachal Pradesh would receive 30 percent of power generated from the project, apart from 12 percent free electricity. The balance power would be allocated to all the constituents of northern grid namely Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. ..." [The Press Trust of India/Factiva]

=================================================================

Also in this Edition: Briefly Noted...

=================================================================

Tackling corrupt practices that have become widespread among Chinese officials will be a very tough task, President Hu Jintao has acknowledged. Addressing the problem would be a long-term, complicated and difficult struggle, he told the Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog. [BBC News (UK)]

The US says it has garnered broad support for Afghans to mount a new drive next month to wipe out major opium poppy fields and deprive a resurgent Taliban of a key source of funds. After spurning US calls for an aerial chemical spray campaign, Afghanistan and European countries now back a ground-based eradication plan, State Department official Thomas Schweich said. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The Central Bank Governor of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday called on the government to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle inflation after ruling out de-pegging from the weak US dollar or revaluing the dirham. [The Financial Times (UK)]

Turkish Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday the country was on track to push through a long-delayed social security reform through Parliament by the end of the month. [Reuters/Factiva]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference on Tuesday she aimed to make progress on boosting financial market transparency at a meeting with other European leaders later this month. [Reuters/Factiva]

The EU's executive's draft plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions will unfairly hit major polluters such as energy companies and steelmakers, and even encourage them to quit Europe, European employers said Tuesday. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and EU trade unions also called for a carbon tax on imports from countries that refuse to tackle climate change, saying this would be the only way to counter higher costs from new environmental regulations. [The Associated Press/Factiva]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Tuesday that a comprehensive effort is underway to improve how it monitors global financial stability in the wake of the US sub prime crisis. The Fund said in a release that despite efforts by central banks to inject liquidity into global markets, the impact of the crisis is likely to be protracted and most forecasters - including the IMF - have scaled back their estimates of growth for this year. [Dow Jones/Factiva]

Five thousand children die every day globally because they do not have access to clean toilets, health experts said on Tuesday. Wealthy governments and donors could make a huge impact on global health by making sanitation a priority, representatives from a coalition of 60 health groups said. [Reuters/Factiva]

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will host an international conference in Bali on the fight against corruption, from January 28 to February 1, the UNODC announced Tuesday. The conference will bring together the 140 signatory countries to the UN convention against corruption. Some 107 of the signatories have ratified the convention since the UN Assembly adopted it in 2003. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]