Int'l, local leaders vow to work with new WB chief

MANILA, Philippines - International and local leaders have vowed to work with new World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim, who started his five-year term last Sunday, replacing Robert Zoellick.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement she is looking forward to working with Kim given IMF’s and World Bank Group’s “common membership and global mandates.”

“The Fund and the Bank have a special responsibility to work together, and Jim and I have already agreed that we will be collaborating closely,” Lagarde said.

“It is with our shared objectives in mind that I congratulate my new colleague in his important position. I look forward to working with him in the years ahead,” she added.

IMF and World Bank are the multilateral institutions created under the Bretton Woods Agreement following the Great Depression in the 1930s. Both institutions are extending assistance to countries which are facing financial difficulties and poverty.

Korean-born American Kim, a development expert, took the helm of the World Bank last Sunday after being elected last April.

He is a former director of the World Health Organization’s Department of HIV/AIDS and led initiatives to treat three million people infected by the virus in developing countries from 2003 to 2007. Kim is also a co-founder and board member of Boston-based Partners in Health that aims to provide universal access to primary health care to poor nations, especially on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said Kim’s health expertise bodes well with the country’s efforts to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.

“Mr. Kim’s extensive experience in health programs, as well as his dedication for development and poverty alleviation, is aligned with the national government’s advocacy to eradicate poverty and the BSP’s program for inclusive growth,” the central bank chief said in a separate statement yesterday.

Tetangco said the BSP will continue to work with the World Bank in “developing an economic system and policies that can deliver more sustainable, fair and inclusive growth.”

The Philippines backed Kim’s candidacy for the top post of the multilateral institution last April. Kim, the United States nominee to the World Bank presidency, was supported by the country against former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who then enjoyed the backing of other developing nations.

In supporting Kim, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said last April Kim had the track record to “lead the agency at this time when global growth and development have become tough tasks for governments around the world.”