Wednesday, October 12th, 2005
East Asia Country Office and Partners Dialogue with President Wolfowitz
14 Sites Connect with TDLC for discussions with President Wolfowitz during his trip to Japan
President Wolfowitz and EAP Vice President Jamil Kassum
President Paul Wolfowitz, on his first visit to Japan as president, held an interactive dialogue with staff from 4 East Asia country offices and guests on October 12 before leaving for China, the next leg of his 2 week trip. Speaking from the Tokyo Development Learning Center, Mr.Wolfowitz connected to Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Hanoi via the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) and was observed widely by 9 World Bank offices and GDLN distance learning centers in the East Asia Pacific and South Asia regions.
President Wolfowitz began by expressing his appreciation for Mr. Jamil Kassum, EAP Vice President and moderator of the dialogue, who will be leaving the Bank after over 30 years of distinguished service.
Speaking about Asia, Mr. Wolfowitz pointed out that while there is still a lot of poverty, the last 20 years have seen the creation of more wealth in the region for more people on a larger scale than at any time in human history.
"What is terrific about the World Bank relationship in East Asia is that we're not only able to provide advice and knowledge and assistance, we're also able to learn a lot from the successful experience of Asian countries. Increasingly, I hope we can transfer some of that successful learning, particularly to Sub-Saharan Africa."
A key development partner in Asia, ASEAN Secretary General Mr.Ong Keng Yong joined the video conference as Guest of Honor from Manila. Mr.Ong identified trade and services, technology, and engaging civil society as areas where he hoped to work with the World Bank and learn from its expertise.
"Harnessing technology is critical for us, as member countries are still grappling with how to use IT and take advantage of the internet. We hope to do more with the World Bank, especially the GDLN and the videoconferencing arrangement that we now see. We have benefited quite a lot from this" said Mr.Ong.
Staff members and guests assembled at the 4 sites had questions and comments on a wide range of subjects for the President. On community driven development, Mr.Wolfowitz touted it as an important part of strengthening civil society and the private sector, and expressed hopes that it would help achieve transparency and accountability on how funds are expended. Mr.Wolfowitz noted that while such programs may cost more, it was important to look at what had been achieved as well.
Mr.Wolfowitz stressed the importance of World Bank engagement with middle income countries focusing on exchanging knowledge. The challenge here, he said, is to help these countries tackle the significant poverty problems that still exist, and the World Bank's expertise needed to help move growth more rapidly to poor elements of the population.
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