World Bank development fund talks

Senior Department of Finance officials met their counterparts from the world's richest nations in Dublin yesterday for talks on how much they would contribute to the World Bank's next development fund for poor nations.

The two-day meeting, held on Monday and yesterday in Malahide, Co Dublin, was the fourth meeting to be held this year on the amount to be raised in the 15th three-year round of funding for the International Development Association, the arm of the World Bank which lends to the poorest nations.

Ireland contributed €70 million of the €6.5 billion ($9.5 billion) raised in the last funding round, the 14th, to the International Development Association (IDA), and an additional €59 million for the debt relief programme.

One of the first objectives facing the new World Bank president Robert Zoellick, who succeeded Paul Wolfowitz as head of the bank in July, is to raise a higher amount in the 15th IDA round.

Representatives from 40 donor countries met in Malahide for discussions.

A final meeting of World Bank contributing countries will decide on the ultimate figure in Berlin in February.

The new International Development Association round will begin in July when the 14th three-year funding round draws to a close.

As of June 30th, 2007, Ireland had contributed $374 million to IDA, 0.22 per cent of the $168.4 billion made in total contributions. The US was the biggest donor, contributing $38.9 billion to the fund, followed by Japan, Germany, the UK and France.

Climate change was one of the areas discussed at the Dublin conference, with donors being told the agency will need additional funds to help developing states adapt to climate change.

The gathering of senior civil servants and bank executives also studied the results of disbursements made under the current IDA round.