G. Speeches by Barber Conable (1986-91)

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Address to the Group of Twenty-Four Ministers

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1991-04-28) Conable, Barber B.

Barber B. Conable, President of the World Bank Group spoke about the following : (1) endorsing an early and substantial IFC capital increase; (2) encouraging effective actions to reduce global debt; (3) advising on appropriate roles for the Bretton Woods institutions in the Gulf; (4) encouraging more development investment, both of a public nature and through promotion of the private sector; and (5) urging a successful resolution of the Uruguay round of trade negotiations.
Adjustment and Growth in Latin America

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1990-01-24) Conable, Barber B.

Barber B. Conable, President of the World Bank, discussed how in Mexico, the decade of the Eighties began with a massive increase in the size of government, its ownership and interventions, and with an unmanageable debt. By the decade's end, Mexico had launched one of the most ambitious, courageous and determined programs of economic reform and institutional change recently undertaken in any country, developed or developing. For those whose incomes were eroded and for those who lost their jobs, these last seven years have been an eternity. But the Government of Mexico is keen to broaden human opportunity and create an efficient and mobile economic structure. The stage is set in Mexico for a resumption of growth and the resultant alleviation of hardship. The Government is aware that the benefits of this development should be distributed widely through emphasis on education and human services. The World Bank shares these goals and expect to contribute to their achievement with analysis, advice, our own funds, and help in mobilizing other sources of finance.
Australia and the World Bank: Partnership Against Poverty in the Developing World

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1989-02-22) Conable, Barber B.

Barber B. Conable, President of the World Bank Group addressed the topic of Australian International Development at the 1989 annual meetings. Poverty, and its persistence alongside such wellbeing, is both a moral outrage and a threat to security. The challenge of poverty is an economic, political and social one. Together, all those elements of change spell a single word: development, the priority business of the World Bank, the oldest, largest and still the most effective international agency in promoting development. But the Bank is only one of the forces fighting global poverty. More of it should come from nations like Australia. Targeted compensation programs can help see the poor through the extra impact of adjustment and keep their hopes and political patience alive. The Bank is supporting such efforts in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica and Morocco and looking elsewhere to see how the timetable or scope of reforms can best be balanced.
Address to the GATT Ministerial Meeting

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1986-09-17) Conable, Barber B.

Barber B. Conable, President of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation addressed the topic of the importance to development of trade and the need for a full role for developing countries in the negotiations. The latest general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) statistics show that export earnings of developing nations fell by 5.5 percent last year, while their imports fell by 6.5 percent in value terms. New GATT negotiations must be launched to help create a more certain outlook for trade and, indeed, for the world economy. He discusses that export development in the developing countries is not possible without generation of the skills the modern market and modern technology require, and the transfer of these skills becomes the cutting edge of education. Restoration of economic growth in the developing countries will benefit the export industries of the developed countries. The Bank attaches great importance to securing a more open trading environment. The negotiations should include discussion of all issues of importance to international trade between developed and developing countries, and they should also increase opportunities for trade among developing countries themselves.