The World Bank Group president Robert Zoellick met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Mr Zoellick is in India on a four-day visit meeting key leaders including prime minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and several other members of the Union Cabinet. He will also meet the CEOs of leading private sector companies.
Mr Mukherjee appreciated the World Bank for its increased lending in the wake of the world financial crisis. At the meeting, Mr Zoellick sought India’s support in widening the capital base of the World Bank so that it could appropriately meet the needs of development finance. The request came after India agreed to invest $10 billion from its reserves to supplement the International Monetary Fund resources. Mr Mukherjee said India has been at the forefront of providing greater capital support to all the multilateral development institutions.
Robert Zoellick on official statement said that the average commitment during the last four financial years from the World Bank has been approximately $2.3 billion. However, in the current year, the commitments are expected to reach about $7 billion.
Mr Zoellick said up to $18 billion will be provided over the next three years by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, $5-6 billion by International Development Assistance and $3.5 billion by International Finance Corporation.
