JEDDAH, 25 August 2003 — The World Bank launched its Arabic website — www.albankaldawli.org — last week to promote its objective of building a climate for investment, job creation, and sustainable growth in the region.
“This new Arabic site will be invaluable in promoting the World Bank’s dialogue with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at this critical period for the region,” said Christiaan Poortman, World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, at a press conference in Dubai launching the site. “We look forward to seeing the site absorb and disseminate more and more information over time.”
The site includes detailed web pages about the institution’s work and new translations of the bank’s publications, issues and briefs. It is a joint effort between the external affairs and Middle East and North Africa vice presidencies.
It is currently a mirror of the bank’s corporate homepage translated into Arabic. By September there will also be a regional site focusing on the bank’s work in MENA. Over 100 web pages should be available in Arabic for the new site by then. These will highlight the bank’s partnerships in the region, learning initiatives, publications in Arabic, as well as project stories from Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.
The site will also feature press releases and country, sector, and issue briefs on various topics. Summaries for key reports will be available in Arabic soon, such as “Two Years of Intifada, Closures and Palestinian Economic Crisis” and “HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa: The Cost of Inaction.”
“We are currently working on preparations for the annual meeting in Dubai,” Lara Saade from the World Bank’s external affairs and outreach office in Washington, DC told Arab News.
