1. Give an
oral summary of the information on WTO:
World Trade
Organization (WTO)
The WTO’s overriding objective is
to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably. It does this by:
·Administering trade agreements
·Acting as a forum for trade
negotiations
·Settling trade disputes
·Reviewing national trade
policies
·Assisting developing countries
in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes
·Cooperating with other
international organizations
The WTO has more than 130
members, accounting for over 90% of world trade. Over 30 others are negotiating
membership.
Decisions are made by the entire membership. This is
typically by consensus. A majority vote is also possible but it has never been
used in the WTO, and was extremely rare under the WTO’s predecessor, GATT. The
WTO’s agreements have been ratified in all members’ parliaments.
The WTO’s top level decision-making body is the
Ministerial Conference which meets at least once every two years.
Below this is the General Council (normally
ambassadors and heads of delegation in
At the next level, the Goods Council, Services Council
and Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Council report to the General Council.
Numerous specialized committees, working groups and
working parties deal with the individual agreements and other areas such as the
environment, development, membership applications and regional trade
agreements.
The first Ministerial Conference in
At the second Ministerial Conference in
How can you ensure that trade is as fair as possible,
and as free as is practical? By negotiating rules and abiding by them. The
WTO’s rules — the agreements — are the result of negotiations between the
members. The current set were the outcome of the 1986–94 Uruguay Round
negotiations which included a major revision of the original General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
GATT is now the WTO’s principal rule-book for trade in
goods. The Uruguay Round also created new rules for dealing with trade in
services, relevant aspects of intellectual property, dispute settlement, and
trade policy reviews. The complete set runs to some 30,000 pages consisting of
about 60 agreements and separate commitments (called schedules), made by
individual members in specific areas such as lower customs duty rates and
services market-opening.
Through these agreements, WTO members operate a non-discriminatory
trading system that spells out their rights and their obligations. Each country
receives guarantees that its exports will be treated fairly and consistently in
other countries’ markets. Each promises to do the same for imports into its own
market. The system also gives developing countries some flexibility in
implementing their commitments.
The WTO’s intellectual property
agreement amounts to rules for trade and investment in ideas and creativity.
The rules state how copyrights,
trademarks, geographical names used to identify products, industrial designs,
integrated circuit layout-designs and undisclosed information such as trade
secrets — "intellectual property" — should be protected when trade is
involved.
The WTO’s procedure for resolving
trade quarrels under the Dispute Settlement Understanding is vital for
enforcing the rules and therefore for ensuring that trade flows smoothly.
Countries bring disputes to the WTO if they think their rights under the
agreements are being infringed. Judgements by specially-appointed independent
experts are based on interpretations of the agreements and individual
countries’ commitments.
The system encourages countries to
settle their differences through consultation. Failing that, they can follow a
carefully mapped out, stage-by-stage procedure that includes the possibility of
a ruling by a panel of experts, and the chance to appeal the ruling on legal
grounds.
The Food and Agriculture
Organization was founded in October 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of
nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to
better the condition of rural populations.
Today, FAO is the largest
autonomous agency within the United Nations system with 180 Member Nations plus
the EC (Member Organization) and more than 4 300 staff members around the
world.
Following recent efforts to
decentralize, FAO's staff includes almost 2 300 people at Headquarters and more
than 2 000 working at decentralized offices and field projects. The
Organization's 1998-1999 biennial budget is set at $650 million and
FAO-assisted projects attract more than $300 million per year from donor
agencies and governments for investment in agricultural and rural development
projects.
Since its inception, FAO has
worked to alleviate poverty and hunger by promoting agricultural development,
improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security - the access of all people
at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life. The
Organization offers direct development assistance, collects, analyses and
disseminates information, provides policy and planning advice to governments
and acts as an international forum for debate on food and agriculture issues.
FAO is active in land and water
development, plant and animal production, forestry, fisheries, economic and
social policy, investment, nutrition, food standards and commodities and trade.
It also plays a major role in dealing with food and agri cultural emergencies.
A specific priority of the Organization is encouraging
sustainable agriculture and rural development, a long-term strategy for the
conservation and manage-ment of natural resources. It aims to meet the needs of
both present and future generations through programmes that do not degrade the
environment and are technically appropriate, economically viable and socially
acceptable.
FAO is governed by the Conference of Member Nations,
which meets every two years to review the work carried out by the organization
and approve a Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium.
The Conference elects a Council of 49 Member Nations
to act as an interim governing body. Members serve three-year, rotating terms.
The Conference also elects a Director-General to head the agency. The current
Director-General, Jacques Diouf, began a six-year term in January 1994.
In a restructuring proposal approved at a special
session of the Council in June, 1994, FAO was divided into eight departments:
Administration and Finance, General Affairs and Information, Economic and
Social Policy, Technical Cooperation, Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and
Sustainable Development.
The Organization's work falls into two categories. The
Regular Programme covers internal operations, including the maintenance of the
highly qualified staff who provide support for field work, advise governments
on policy and planning and servi ce a wide range of development needs. It is
financed by Member Nations, who contribute according to levels set by the
Conference.
The Field Programme implements FAO's development strategies
and provides assistance to governments and rural communities. Projects are
usually undertaken in cooperation with national governments and other agencies.
More than 60 percent of Field Programme finances come from national trust funds
and 22 percent is provided by the United Nations Development Programme. FAO
contributes about 16 percent - drawn from the Regular Programme budget -
through its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP).
2.
Precis the following press release:
FAO Stresses Potential of Biotechnology
but Calls for Caution
Biotechnology provides powerful tools for the
sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry and can be of
significant help in meeting the food needs of a growing and increasingly
urbanized population, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in
its first statement on biotechnology, published today. In the case of
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), however, FAO called for "a cautious
case-by-case approach to determine the benefits and risks of each individual
GMO" and to address the "legitimate concerns for the biosaftey of
each product and process prior to its release."
The statement was published on the occasion of the
'Codex Alimentarius Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from
Biotechnology', meeting in Chiba/Japan (14-17 March). The objectives of the
Task Force are to develop standards,
guidelines or recommendations, as appropriate, for foods derived from
biotechnologies or traits introduced into foods by biotechnological methods.
Together with the World Health Organization, FAO
provides the secretariat to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which is an
intergovernmental body with 165 member countries. It protects the health of
consumers, ensures fair practices in food trade and promotes the coordination
of food standards.
FAO recognized that genetic engineering has the
potential to help increase production and productivity in agriculture, forestry
and fisheries. It could lead to higher yields on marginal lands in countries
that today cannot grow enough food to feed their people, the agency said.
FAO also pointed out that "there are already
examples where genetic engineering is helping to reduce the transmission of
human and animal diseases through new vaccines. Rice has been genetically
engineered to contain pro-vitamin A (beta carotene) and iron, which could
improve the health of many low-income communities."
Other biotechnological methods have led to organisms
that improve food quality and consistency, or that clean up oil spills and
heavy metals in fragile ecosystems.
Tissue culture has produced plants that are increasing
crop yields by providing farmers with healthier planting material.
Marker-assisted selection and DNA fingerprinting allow a faster and much more
targeted development of improved genotypes for all living species. They also
provide new research methods which can assist in the conservation and
characterization of biodiversity.
However, FAO said, it is aware of the concern about
the potential risks posed by certain aspects of biotechnology that could have
effects on human and animal health and the environment. "Caution must be
exercised in order to reduce the risks of transferring toxins from one life
form to another, of creating new toxins or of transferring allergenic compounds
from one species to another, which could result in unexpected allergic
reactions. Risks to the environment include the possibility of outcrossing,
which could lead, for example, to the development of more aggressive weeds or
wild relatives with increased resistance to diseases or environmental stresses,
upsetting the ecosystem balance. Biodiversity may also be lost, as a result of
the displacement of traditional cultivars by a small number of genetically
modified cultivars, for example."
FAO called for a science-based evaluation that would
objectively determine the benefits and risks of each individual GMO. "The
possible effects on biodiversity, the environment and food safety need to be
evaluated, and the extent to which the benefits of the product or process
outweigh its risks assessed. The evaluation process should also take into
consideration experience gained by national regulatory authorities in clearing
such products. Careful monitoring of the post-release effects of these products
and processes is also essential to ensure their continued safety to human
beings, animals and the environment."
Investment in biotechnological research tends to be
concentrated in the private sector and oriented towards agriculture in
higher-income countries where there is purchasing power for its products, FAO
said. "In view of the potential contribution of biotechnologies for
increasing food supply and overcoming food insecurity and vulnerability,
efforts should be made to ensure that developing countries, in general, and
resource-poor farmers, in particular, benefit more from biotechnological
research, while continuing to have access to a diversity of sources of genetic
material. FAO proposes that this need be addressed through increased public funding
and dialogue between the public and private sectors."
FAO
assists its member countries, particularly developing countries, to reap the
benefits derived from the application of biotechnologies through, for example,
the network on plant biotechnology for Latin America and the Caribbean
(REDBIO), which involves 33 countries. The Organization also assists developing
countries to participate more effectively and equitably in international
commodities and food trade. FAO provides technical information and assistance,
as well as socio-economic and environmental analyses, on major global issues
related to new technological developments.
The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture, a permanent intergovernmental forum, is developing a Code of
Conduct on Biotechnology aimed at maximizing the benefits of modern
biotechnologies and minimizing the risks. The Code will be based on scientific
considerations and will take into account the environmental, socio-economic and
ethical implications of biotechnology. FAO is also working towards the
establishment of an international expert committee on ethics in food and
agriculture.
FAO emphasized, however, that the responsibility for
formulating policies towards biotechnologies rests with the member governments
themselves.
1) What does The World Bank Group consist of?
Founded in 1944, the World Bank today consists of five
closely associated institutions:
IBRD The International Bank for Reconstruction & Development The IBRD
provides loans and development assistance to middle-income countries and
creditworthy poorer countries. Voting power is linked to members' capital
subscriptions, which in turn are based on each country's relative economic
strength. The IBRD obtains most of its funds through the sale of bonds in
international capital markets.
IDA The
International Development Association IDA plays a key role in supporting the
Bank's poverty reduction mission. IDA assistance is focused on the poorest countries,
to which it provides interest-free loans and other services. IDA depends on
contributions from its wealthier member countries—including some developing
countries—for most of its financial resources.
IFC
The International Finance Corporation IFC promotes growth in the developing
world by financing private sector investments and providing technical
assistance and advice to governments and businesses. In partnership with
private investors, IFC provides both loan and equity finance for business ventures
in developing countries.
MIGA
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency MIGA helps encourage foreign
investment in developing countries by providing guarantees to foreign investors
against loss caused by non-commercial risks. MIGA also provides technical
assistance to help countries disseminate information on investment
opportunities.
ICSID The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
ICSID provides facilities for the settlement – by conciliation or arbitration
– of investment disputes between foreign investors and their host countries.
The World Bank is a development institution whose goal
is to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth in its client
countries. Development is a long-term process which ultimately involves the
transformation of whole societies. It is about getting economic and financial policies right. But it
is also about empowering the people, building the roads, writing the laws,
recognizing the women, educating the girls, eliminating the corruption,
protecting the environment, inoculating the children - and much, much more.
Development is about putting all the
component parts in place - balanced economic and social programs.
The challenge is immense, and this means that everyone
involved in the development process - governments, institutions such as the
Bank, civil society, and the private sector - must work in close partnership to
define the needs and implement the programs.
The global fight against poverty is aimed at ensuring
that people everywhere in this world have a chance for a better life for
themselves and for their children. Over the past generation, more progress has
been made in reducing poverty and raising living standards than during any
other period in history. In developing countries:
·Life expectancy has increased from 55 to 65years
·Incomes per person have doubled
·The proportion of children attending school has risen
from less than half to more than three quarters
·Infant mortality has been reduced by 50 percent
Despite these successes, massive development
challenges remain. Of the 4.7 billion people who live in the 100 countries that
are World Bank clients:
3 billion live on less than $2 a day and 1.3 billion
on less than $1 a day
40,000 die of preventable diseases every day
130 million never have an opportunity to go to school
1.3 billion do not have clean water to drink
All countries have a stake in meeting these
challenges. Raising living standards and promoting growth and development in
the world's poorer countries also expands trade, jobs, and incomes in the
wealthier countries. Equally, an increase in poverty in developing countries
can adversely affect wealthier nations as markets and investment opportunities
shrink, the environment is damaged, and people migrate in search of work and
income. We live in one world - a world linked by communications and trade, by
global finance and a shared environment, and most of all by common aspirations
for a better life. The fight against global poverty is - without question - a global
responsibility.
The World Bank is the world's largest source of
development assistance, providing nearly $30 billion in loans annually to its
client countries. The Bank uses its financial resources, its highly trained
staff, and its extensive knowledge base to individually help each developing
country onto a path of stable, sustainable, and equitable growth. The main
focus is on helping the poorest people and the poorest countries, but for all
its clients the Bank emphasizes the need for:
Investing in people, particularly through basic health
and education
Protecting the environment
Supporting and encouraging private business
development
Strengthening the ability of the governments to
deliver quality services, efficiently and transparently
Promoting reforms to create a stable macroeconomic
environment, conducive to investment and long-term planning
Focusing on social development, inclusion, governance,
and institution-building as key elements of poverty reduction
The Bank is also helping countries to strengthen and
sustain the fundamental conditions they need to attract and retain private
investment. With Bank support - both lending and advice - governments are
reforming their overall economies and strengthening banking systems. They are investing
in human resources, infrastructure, and environmental protection which enhances
the attractiveness and productivity of private investment. Through World Bank
guarantees, MIGA's political risk insurance, and in partnership with IFC's
equity investments, investors are minimizing their risks and finding the
comfort to invest in developing countries and countries undergoing transition
to market-based economies.
The World Bank raises money for its development
programs by tapping the world's capital markets, and, in the case of the IDA,
through contributions from wealthier member governments.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
which accounts for about three-fourths of the Bank's annual lending, raises
almost all its money in financial markets. One of the world's most prudent and
conservatively managed financial institutions, the IBRD sells AAA-rated bonds
and other debt securities to pension funds, insurance companies, corporations,
other banks, and individuals around the globe. IBRD charges interest to its
borrowers at rates which reflect its cost of borrowing. Loans must be repaid in
15 to 20 years; there is a three to five-year grace period before repayment of
principal begins.
Less than 5 percent of the IBRD's funds are paid in by
countries when they join the Bank. Member governments purchase shares, the
number of which is based on their relative economic strength, but pay in only a
small portion of the value of those shares. The unpaid balance is
"on-call" should the Bank suffer losses so grave that it can no
longer pay its creditors - something that has never happened. This guarantee
capital can only be used to pay bond holders, not to cover administrative costs
or to make loans. The IBRD's rules require that loans outstanding and disbursed
may not exceed the combined total of capital and reserves. There has never been
a default on a World Bank loan.
International Development Association was established
in 1960 to provide concessional assistance to countries that are too poor to
borrow at commercial rates. IDA helps to promote growth and reduce poverty in
the same ways as does the IBRD but using interest-free loans (which are known
as IDA "credits"), technical assistance, and policy advice. IDA
credits account for about one-fourth of all Bank lending. Borrowers pay a fee
of less than 1 percent of the loan to cover administrative costs. Repayment is
required in 35 or 40 years with a 10-year grace period.
Nearly 40 countries contribute to IDA's funding, which
is replenished every three years. Donor nations include not only industrial
member countries such as France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the
United States, but also developing countries such as Argentina, Botswana,
Brazil, Hungary, Korea, Russia, and Turkey, some of which were once
IDA-borrowers themselves.
IDA's funding is managed in the same prudent,
conservative, and cautious way as is the IBRD's. Like the IBRD, there has never
been a default on an IDA credit.
2. Speak on
World Bank programmes using the followig plan:
·Investing in People;
·Stimulating Private Sector Growth;
·Promoting Economic Reform;
·Fighting Corruption;
·Assisting Countries Affected by Conflict;
·Leveraging Investment.
Through its loans, policy advice and technical
assistance, the World Bank supports a broad range of programs aimed at reducing
poverty and improving living standards in the developing world. Effective
poverty reduction strategies and poverty-focused lending are central to achieving
these objectives. Bank programs give high priority to sustainable, social and
human development and strengthened economic management, with a growing emphasis
on inclusion, governance and institution-building.
No country will grow economically and reduce poverty
while its people cannot read or write, or while its people struggle with
malnourishment and sickness. As we enter the new millennium, hundreds of
millions of people lack the minimally acceptable levels of education, health,
and nutrition that so many in the industrialized world take for granted. This
is not just a moral issue, it is a global economic travesty and a major
impediment to the reduction of poverty.
Accordingly, the Bank targets much of its assistance where
the impact is greatest - on basic social services such as reproductive and
maternal health care, nutrition, early childhood development programs, primary
education, and programs that target the rural poor and women. As the single
largest investor in social sectors, the Bank has provided loans totaling over
$40 billion for more than 500 projects for human development in 100 countries.
The Bank also helps client
governments restructure social security and pension systems and establish
social safety nets to protect those most at risk from being hurt by the effects
of economic restructuring. In addition to lending money, the Bank provides
technical assistance and policy advice through services such as in-depth
country assessments of poverty, country assistance strategies, and public
expenditure reviews, so governments can set sound, long-term strategies for
pursuing economic growth.
Poverty reduction is intrinsically
linked to environmental and social sustainability. Sustainability means a
number of things, but first and foremost it means that resources, including
human resources, are enhanced or protected rather than damaged or depleted as
part of the development process. Developing countries are, in most instances,
much more vulnerable to environmental degradation than industrial countries.
Problems such as air and water pollution, climate change, loss of biological
diversity, desertification, and deforestation are threatening their ability to
meet the basic human needs of their people: adequate food, clean water, safe
shelter, and a healthy environment.
The Bank goes to great lengths to
ensure that its projects do not harm the natural environment. All projects are
screened to determine whether they pose environmental risks. Environmental
assessments are undertaken on projects that may be harmful and the Bank
includes special measures in such projects to avoid environmental damage.
Environmental concerns have been mainstreamed into all Bank activities, because
experience has shown that it is more cost effective to prevent environmental
damage than to clean it up later.
To enhance these efforts, the Bank works in
partnership with other development agencies, NGOs, and community groups to gain
the benefit of their knowledge and experience. The Bank works with IUCN, the
Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, and
many other organizations to help facilitate programs to protect rivers,
forests, and coastal areas. The Bank is also one of the implementing agencies
of the Global Environment Facility, the organization which is playing a key
role in addressing global environmental priorities such as: biodiversity,
climate change, ozone depletion, and pollution of international waters.
The private sector is the engine of long-term growth.
A stable and open business climate with access to credit and sound financial
systems is essential for private entrepreneurs to emerge, for business to
flourish, and for local people and investors from abroad to find the confidence
to invest, and create wealth, income, and jobs. The World Bank is helping
client governments throughout the developing world create the necessary
conditions for the revival and expansion of private sector investment. These
include:
·Putting in place the basic laws, regulations, and
local institutions that private investors need to ensure clear enforcement of
contractural obligations
·Building the physical infrastructure (such as
transportation, water, energy, telecommunications, etc.) and developing the
critical technological and information base necessary for countries to compete
in the global marketplace
·Developing local capital markets and banking systems.
In addition to its loans and technical assistance, the
World Bank also offers guarantees to encourage private investment; these
guarantees are designed to mitigate investment risks, especially for long-term
debt financing. They are particularly important for encouraging private
financing of infrastructure - where more than $250 billion a year in investment
is needed to meet World Bank client country needs for the next decade. These
guarantees are intended to supplement reform programs and complement the risk
mitigation benefits offered to the private sector by IFC and MIGA.
Since its inception, the Bank's private sector
affiliate, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has supported some
2,000 companies in 129 countries through more than $21 billion in financing
from its own account and $15 billion arranged through syndications and
underwriting. The IFC also helps countries establish capital markets and
provides advisory services for privatization of state-owned enterprises.
MIGA's political risk guarantees also support private
sector growth by giving investors confidence to invest in endeavors that might
otherwise look too risky . The agency has insured investments worth almost $5
billion a year in more than 24 client countries. MIGA also serves investors and
client countries by providing information about investment opportunities in
those countries.
As economic distortions exacerbate poverty, the Bank
helps its client governments improve their economic and social policies so as
to increase efficiency and transparency, promote stability, and bring about
equitable economic growth. The Bank provides funding, policy advice and
technical assistance in support of reform efforts to cut budget deficits,
reduce inflation, liberalize trade and investment, privatize state-owned
enterprises, establish sound financial systems, strengthen judicial systems,
and ensure property rights. These reforms help attract foreign private capital,
generate domestic savings and investment, and enable governments to provide
effective social services. However, because reform measures can lead to
unemployment as unproductive enterprises are closed, and to increased prices
when inefficient government subsidies are cut, reforms can adversely affect
poor and vulnerable people in the short term. To address these concerns, Bank
support for reform often includes funding for safety net programs to help protect
the poor or to keep vulnerable people from slipping into poverty.
High levels of debt - owed mostly to governments in
developed countries - have been increasingly recognized as a severe constraint
on the ability of poor countries to undertake fundamental reforms. To help
ensure that economic reform efforts are not put at risk by high debt and debt
service burdens, in 1996 the Bank and the International Monetary Fund launched
the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). The initiative represents
a commitment by the international community, including all creditors, to act
together in a coordinated and concerted fashion to reduce the debt of very poor
countries to sustainable levels. To qualify for HIPC debt relief a country must
be eligible for IDA credits, face an unsustainable debt burden, and demonstrate
a commitment to economic reform. Debt relief granted under the initiative is
based on a country's ability to service its debt in a context of economic
growth and poverty reduction. Thus far some ten countries have qualified for
debt relief of approximately $8.5 billion.
For governments to be effective, they must have the
trust and confidence of the people they serve. Corruption has a devastating
economic and social impact. It undermines trust in government and diminishes
the effectiveness of public policy. It impedes investor confidence and has a
negative impact on foreign investment. Corruption also reduces the
effectiveness of aid and threatens both political and grassroots support for donor
assistance.
While citizens and governments must themselves lead
the fight against corruption, the Bank has been assisting a number of countries
with their anti-corruption efforts. The Bank has conducted surveys to diagnose
the extent and character of corruption in a given country. It has also
organized workshops, courses and training for government officials and members
of civil society. But most far-reaching, perhaps, are the efforts the Bank is
making to help countries identify and implement the policy and institutional
reforms which can minimize opportunities for corruption; these reforms include
better financial regulation, supervision and disclosure; greater transparency
in public sector decision-making; and greater accountability in the private sector
through the confirmation of shareholder and creditor rights.
Conflict and violence are among
the world's most pressing development problems, affecting many of the world's
poorest countries. The Bank's comparative advantage in this area lies in
facilitating the transition from dependence on relief to sustainable economic
growth, and improving the coordination of post-conflict reconstruction and
recovery assistance. The Bank's post-conflict assistance has focused not only
on rebuilding infrastructure, but also on programs to promote economic
adjustment and recovery, address social sector needs, and build institutional
capacity. Projects are also being designed to assist in demining,
demobilization and reintegration of ex-soldiers, and reintegration of displaced
populations. The Bank is working around the globe - in places as diverse as the
Balkans, Burundi, Cambodia, Sierra
Leone, and Haiti - and with a wide range of partners to held rebuild economies
and bring stability and a better future to the people whose lives have been
affected by conflict.
The World Bank's unique
partnership with its client governments, and its role in helping them shape
their plans and priorities, equip it to play a strong coordinating role in
leveraging funds fordevelopment.
IBRD and IDA loans and credits
typically cover less than half of the total investment costs of a project. The
remainder is provided by client governments themselves or by cofinanciers. In
this fashion, the resources that the Bank raises from bondholders and shareholders
are multiplied in both scope and effectiveness.
Cofinancing arrangements with
other donors are an extremely effective means not only of mobilizing additional
resources, but also of facilitating coordination among development agencies.
Cofinanciers include other development banks, the European Union, national aid
programs, and export credit agencies. Cofinanciers provide an additional $7 to
$8 billion, or another one-third beyond the Bank's own funding, for development
each year. The Bank chairs consultative group meetings for many of its client
countries, at which officials from donor countries meet with chief policymakers
from the borrowing country to discuss overall economic priorities and
strategies and to pledge support.
3. Learn the following abbreviations. Give their Ukrainian equivalents.
IBA - Investment Bankers Association;
IBEC - International Bank for Economic
Cooperation;
IBRD - International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development;
IDF - International Development
Foundation;
IIB - International Investment Bank;
WB - World Bank for Reconstruction
and Development.