World Bank shifts focus to development solutions culture

The World Bank has decided to shift its strategy from a focus on stand-alone projects to a development solutions culture, which its President Jim Young Kim said aims towards ending extreme poverty by 2030.
"Now, our strategy will drive all our activities and resources to meet these two goals," Jim told reporters at the conclusion of the annual plenary meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Saturday.
The new strategy aims to boost shared prosperity of the bottom 40 per cent of the population in all developing countries, Jim said.
Approved by the Development Committee, a joint World Bank-IMF forum that advises the two institutions, the new World Bank Group Strategy says there will be shift from a focus on stand-alone projects to a "development solutions culture embedded in widely disseminated knowledge of what works and how to deliver it".

"For the first time in the history of our organization, we have a strategy that leverages the strengths of our entire organization - the Bank, the IFC, our private sector arm, and MIGA, which provides risk guarantees - and aligns all our work for a common purpose," Jim said.
The Joint Communique welcomed the intensified focus of the IMF on growth and job creation, as well as on the analysis of risks and vulnerabilities and the assessment of the global impact of policy changes in systemically important countries.

"Safeguarding and further building on the openness and fairness of the international trading system remains vital to global growth and in this context we look forward to progress at the World Trade Organization's upcoming Bali Ministerial Conference," it said.

Noting that the World Bank has an important role to play in delivering global development results, the communique stress the need for a continued strong client orientation that recognizes the diversity and development needs of countries.
"Special attention must be paid to countries and regions with the highest incidence of poverty, to FCS, as well as to the unique challenges facing small states," it said.