Washington, September 25:

The heads of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at a meeting here offered a message of hope to the world’s poorest countries and gave final touches to a deal to cancel the debt of the world’s 18 poorest nations, 14 of which are in Africa. “We meet at an extraordinary moment in history,” World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said at the annual meeting of the two groups, “There has never been a more urgent need for results in our fight against poverty, and there has never been a stronger call for action from the global community.” Rodrigo Rato, IMF managing director, struck a similar note, saying that current overall strong global growth presents a ‘time of opportunity’ for particularly emerging market countries to shore up the fundamentals of their economies. “The current exceptionally favourable conditions in financial markets cannot be expected to last forever,” Rato warned.

The IMF and WB, both development agencies based in Washington, are finalising the debt forgiveness deal that was agreed to in July by the Group of Eight (G8) — the seven largest developed econ-omies and Russia.

Wolfowitz described Africa’s ‘staggering needs’ in nutrition, health care, clean water and education. He said that success in the fight against poverty will require leadership with accountability, investment in infrastructure and greater emphasis on health care and education. “We are at a turning point and there are grounds for hope,” Wolfowitz said, pointing out progress against poverty, especially in Asia and Latin America. These achievements must now be translated to help the other poor regions of the world, he added. The key in helping lift Africa out of poverty is to achieve lasting economic growth there.

“Without sustained growth, real poverty reduction is impossible,” he said. While accountability for poor countries is necessary to ensure that aid is spent wisely, Wolfowitz pledged to likewise hold the World Bank accountable.

IMF doubtful

WASHINGTON: The IMF has said that a successful outcome to the Doha Round by the end of 2006 is of critical importance for global economic growth and poverty reduction. “Serious challenges remain in reaching an agreement at the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December,” the IMF said. The committee said that finance ministers and central bank governors of WTO members have a vital interest in successful multilateral tra-de liberalisation. — Xinhua