Development Committee Statement
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TIONAL BA A NK RN E F T O N R I DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WORLD BANK R (Joint Ministerial Committee E T C N O E N M S P of the T O R L U E CT EV Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund ION AND D On the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries) DC2006-0021 November 13, 2006 STATEMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE SEVENTY-FOURTH MEETING OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Chairman, Alberto Carrasquilla Minister of Finance, Colombia Singapore September 18, 2006 Contents Page No. Note on the Seventy-Fourth Meeting....................................................................................1 Note by the President of the World Bank .............................................................................3 Statement by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund ...........................................................................................11 Highlights of Ministerial Statements ..................................................................................21 Prepared Statements Circulated by Members.....................................................................27 Prepared Statements Circulated by Observers..................................................................155 Annex A Agenda .......................................................................................................205 Annex B Communiqué ..............................................................................................207 Annex C List of Participants......................................................................................211 * * * Index Page No. Statements by Members Mr. Akaba......................................................(Japan) ........................................................... 27 Mr. Al-Assaf (Mr. Al-Sayari *).....................(Saudi Arabia)................................................ 31 Mr. Al Khalifa ...............................................(Bahrain)........................................................ 37 Mr. Benn........................................................(United Kingdom).......................................... 41 Mr. Bouabré...................................................(Côte d’Ivoire) ............................................... 49 Mr. Breton (Ms. Girardin **)........................(France).......................................................... 55 Mr. Carranza Ugarte (Mr. Cayo *)................(Peru) ............................................................. 59 Mr. Chidambaram .........................................(India) ............................................................ 67 Mr. Flaherty (Mr. Carney *)..........................(Canada)......................................................... 71 Mr. Giordani (Mr. Conde **)........................(Venezuela).................................................... 77 Mr. Heinaluoma.............................................(Finland) ........................................................ 89 Ms. Indrawati.................................................(Indonesia)..................................................... 93 Mr. Jin ...........................................................(China)........................................................... 97 Mr. Kudrin.....................................................(Russian Federation)......................................101 Mr. Kwon ......................................................(Korea)...........................................................107 Ms. Leuthard .................................................(Switzerland) .................................................113 Mr. Mantega (Mr. de Campos Meirelles *)...(Brazil)...........................................................119 Mr. Manuel....................................................(South Africa) ................................................123 Mr. Oualalou .................................................(Morocco) ......................................................127 Mr. Padoa-Schioppa (Mr. Draghi *)..............(Italy) .............................................................133 Mr. Paulson (Mr. Lowery **)........................(United States) ...............................................137 Mr. Reynders (Mr. Arnoldi *) .......................(Belgium).......................................................141 Ms. Wieczorek-Zeul......................................(Germany)......................................................145 Mr. Zalm (Ms. van Ardenne *) .....................(The Netherlands) ..........................................151 (*) Alternate (**) Temporary Alternate Statements by Observers Asian Development Bank......................................................................................................155 European Commission ..........................................................................................................161 International Fund for Agricultural Development.................................................................165 International Labour Office...................................................................................................169 Islamic Development Bank ...................................................................................................173 OECD Development Assistance Committee.........................................................................183 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.......................................................193 United Nations Development Programme.............................................................................199 World Trade Organization.....................................................................................................203 i NOTE ON THE SEVENTY-FOURTH MEETING OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE The Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries – the Development Committee – held its seventy-fourth meeting on September 18, 2006, in Ballroom II of the Suntec Convention Center in Singapore. The meeting consisted of a single session, followed by the Chairman’s Lunch for Members on the same day. Members circulated their written statements in advance and these are part of this document; highlights of the Members’ statements were circulated by the Chairman and are also part of this volume. Also included are notes by the Bank President and the Fund Managing Director distributed ahead of the meeting. The meeting started at 9:00 am and ended at 1:15 pm. It was chaired by Mr. Alberto Carrasquilla, Minister of Finance of Colombia. The Agenda (Annex A) was adopted at the beginning of the meeting, followed by discussion of two topics: (i) Strengthening Bank Group Work in Governance and Anticorruption and (ii) Strengthening the World Bank's Engagement in IBRD Partner Countries. Both topics were supported by papers prepared by staff of the World Bank. In addition to the above discussion topics, the agenda included the following progress reports that Ministers commented on in their written statements: (i) An Investment Framework for Clean Energy and Development; (ii) Progress Report for the Education Fast Track Initiative; and (iii) DOHA Development Agenda and Aid for Trade. The Communiqué (Annex B) was approved during the meeting and records the salient points and outcome of the Ministerial discussion. 1 2 Note of the President of the World Bank, Mr. Paul Wolfowitz, to the Development Committee Introduction A year after the Gleneagles and UN Summits is a good time to take stock of progress on the development agenda. Developing countries have enjoyed a notable period of strong growth. Economic activity in low and middle-income countries is expected to grow by 6.8 percent this year, a fifth consecutive year of strong growth. Virtually every developing region, including Africa, has performed well. Yet the global environment is unlikely to be as supportive in the future as it has been in recent years. More immediately, higher oil prices have led to additional budgetary pressures in many developing countries. This is no time for complacency. It is time for all, donors and partner countries, to deliver on the undertakings given or reaffirmed at the Gleneagles and UN Summits a year ago. Monitoring Progress Let me first briefly report on the Bank Group position. We have made good progress on the ambitious agenda we set for ourselves at the last Annual Meetings. Both as a banking institution and a development agency, the Bank Group as a whole is in a strong position. IBRD lending is up 3.7% to $14.2 billion, the highest in seven years. IDA has had a record year with $9.5 billion in lending, IFC commitments were up by 25% to $6.5 billion and MIGA provided $1.3 billion in guarantees. Our strong financial position allowed us to turn our advantage to opportunity for our poorer clients and contribute a record level of $950 million in support to IDA. This should be seen as setting an example of our commitment to IDA for other donors to follow, not as a substitute for other donor contributions. Financial results are important, but the Bank Group also needs to be held accountable for its contribution to development results. I am confident that we have set a resolute course on policy issues that will continue to strengthen the Bank Group’s performance and produce sound results. Among the highlights of the past year, we worked very hard and successfully on completing the Multilateral Debt