Wolfowitz, Haruhiko come calling to India

World Bank head Paul Wolfowitz and Asian Development Bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda will visit India this month.

Wolfowitz will be in the country on August 18-19 and Kuroda will arrive on August 30 on a two-day visit. The visits are part of their introductory tours of important developing countries.

The World Bank chief will cover several important Asian countries, including India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Kuroda's visit comes ahead of India hosting the ADB's annual general meeting in Hyderabad next year.

The ADB is a multilateral development finance institution dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia.

The bank is led by a president, who is always from Japan, and appointed by the Japanese government.

The Indian government had, earlier this year, sent a request to both the World Bank and the ADB to consider providing assistance for rebuilding infrastructure, and for rehabilitation of those affected by last year's tsunami.

It had also sought assistance for developing disaster prevention methods for the future.