WB calls for help to poor nations hit by financial crisis
The World Bank on Thursday called on donors to boost aid to poor nations hit by a financial crisis that is "not of their making" ahead of a UN development conference this weekend.
Developing countries "find themselves at the mercy of a crisis not of their making," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a statement.
"A retreat to protectionism or economic nationalism by developed countries will hurt them even further," he added.
The World Bank said the G7, representing the world's most developed nations, are currently 30 billion dollars short of the commitments to debt relief and increased aid made at a 2005 Gleneagles summit.
In a paper prepared for the conference in Doha this weekend, the World Bank said developing countries are facing a "perfect storm."
At a time of slowing world growth, investment is vital to stem the impact of severe food and fuel price crises, the lender said.
The World Bank's top economist Justin Yifu Lin stressed how "empowering developing and emerging countries is imperative."
"Helping nations pursue economic development and long term prosperity should be the goal of development finance. We must not lose sight of this principle amidst the current crisis," he said.
Earlier this month the World Bank lowered its growth forecast for developing country economies to 4.5 percent for 2009 from a prior projection of 6.4 percent in July, citing the financial turmoil, slower exports and weaker commodity prices
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