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Foreign Aid: Challenges and Opportunities
(2006-07-31) Wolfowitz, Paul
Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, discussed Africa’s challenge to unleash the energy of the people, and give people the opportunity to improve their lives themselves. He talked about the challenge of corruption. He appreciated Africa for improving policies to make it easier for new businesses to take off and for businesses that are established to expand. Africans are taking a lead in helping their continent turn the corner, and donors are raising the bar for development assistance to try to ensure that every dollar is used to create a healthier, better-educated, more prosperous Africa. Governance is taken seriously, with performance-based aid strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
Trade: The Missing Link to Opportunity
(2005-12-07) Wolfowitz, Paul
Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, argued that the Doha Round presents an opportunity to rewrite the rules of an unfair trading system that holds back the potential of the poorest people. As important as aid is, as important as debt relief is, the opportunities generated by trade are far more significant. Unless the people of Africa and other poor countries have access to markets to sell their products, they will not escape poverty or be able to give their children a better future. He said, under the current rules, rich countries are allowed to keep barriers highest on the goods produced by poor countries. Wolfowitz emphasized that rich countries pay out a total of 280 billion dollars in subsidies to their farmers each year. But the real damage is done to farmers in poor countries who are denied markets to sell their goods. It is their children who go hungry, who are deprived of clean water, medicines, and the most basic necessities of life.
China a Model Country
(2005-10-14) Wolfowitz, Paul
Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, noted that China has shown astonishing resolve in the last 25 years in fighting poverty, with remarkable progress to show for it. With similar resolve, China can successfully work with the Bank and with other partners to overcome the remaining development challenges it faces today: battling continued poverty, confronting environmental decline, and lowering barriers to global trade. He commented that the upcoming meeting of the G-20 presents a vital opportunity for China and the international community to redress the imbalances in the global economy, to create a more stable and equitable world for future generations. It is the first time that China is hosting this meeting of the G-20-and this is appropriate evidence of China's growing role as a major force in the global economy. The decisions at that meeting can make a difference for the world's poor--between a life of deprivation and suffering or a future with dignity and opportunity.