29 February 2008
New threats and opportunities have pushed the World Bank toward a new form of engagement in the Middle East and North Africa region.
A high-ranking World Bank delegation headed by the Managing Director, Juan Jose Daboub, yesterday launched a series of consultations on the Bank’s involvement in the Middle East and North Africa region.
A Bank press release reports that discussions began yesterday with officials from the Arab League. The talks aimed at developing a plan to strengthen the World Bank’s engagement in the Arab World - one of the six strategic themes that the Bank’s President Robert Zoellick announced in an October speech marking 100 days in the post.
The current economic realities present the Bank with new challenges in the region. Most of the region’s countries are classified as middle income, and thus are only qualified to World Bank’s loans at near-market interest rates. Competition from other lenders and financial institutions, who want to invest in the region and do not attach conditions or require adherence to safeguards for their loans, represents the largest threat to the Bank. On the other hand, the flood of petrodollars in the region in recent years has spurred new investments and thus opportunities for the World Bank Group.
It remains unclear whether the Bank will continue in its capacity as a technical advisor, or succeed in redefining its role to maintain relevant in a region that has become largely self-sufficient.
Sources