Henry Paulson requests World Bank and IMF to step in and help with funds

2008-10-14 18:29:18 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Top Stories)

The treasury department published the highlights of Henry Paulson’s statement issued on Sunday during the development committee of the World Bank’s meeting.

He addressed the members saying they are all meeting at one of the most stressful period as far as global economy was concerned. He went on to say that developments in the financial sector was making a huge impact on emerging as well as poor countries as well as the most advanced economies.

Henry Paulson said this could be a time when the World Bank’s and IMF or the International Monetary Fund’s ability to handle crisis is put to test. He added that these organizations must now be fully geared to help especially the most affected and vulnerable with their resources to soften the effect of the situation.

He reminded the members about the meeting held a few months ago where they focused on the importance of a quick response by international communities to the whopping increase in the prices of fuel and food. He also said there was adequate and commendable response to this call with a lot of multilateral and bilateral coming forward to donate substantial amounts towards assistance. He also lauded Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank for his expert leadership in effective coordination of the response from the international community.

He said it is highly likely now for the same countries to face tremendous pressure due to a steep fall in demand for exports, remittances and private investments, etc. Emerging markets could face similar problems and the World Bank Group is in a position to respond and help these markets positively he added.