World Bank chief sets African tour to spur aid

(AFP) –

WASHINGTON — World Bank president Robert Zoellick will visit Africa next week to spur financial support for the world's poorest continent amid the global economic crisis, the bank said Thursday.

Zoellick is scheduled to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda to view first-hand some of the damage the financial meltdown has wreaked on the three countries in Africa's Great Lakes region and encourage investors and donors to step up financial flows into Africa, the Washington-based development lender said a statement.

"Some of the biggest gains in fighting poverty in Africa can be made if investors and donors boost support for agriculture, helping Africa achieve food security, while improving rural incomes and facilitating post-harvest marketing, conservation and agricultural processing," Zoellick said.

Zoellick is to arrive in Kinshasha late Sunday, Herbert Boh, a World Bank official, told AFP. He will travel to Rwanda on Tuesday and leaves late Wednesday for Uganda for a one-day visit.

The 186-nation bank stressed that there are opportunities in African countries "still mired in, or emerging from conflict, such as DR Congo, post-genocide countries such as Rwanda, and relatively stable countries such as Uganda."

Zoellick said the most urgently needed funding should help Africa in a variety of ways, including expansion of the continent's share of global and intra-African trade, curbing armed conflicts, and building crucial infrastructure to promote manufacturing and industrialization.

The World Bank's International Development Association provides grants and low-interest loans to 79 of the world's poorest countries, half of which are in Africa.

Another arm of the bank, the International Finance Corporation, provides investments and services to support the private sector in developing countries.

Its commitments in Africa rose to 1.82 billion dollars in the 2009 fiscal year that ended June 30, from 445 million dollars three years ago, the World Bank said.

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