RIYADH, 31 January — Riyadh has been selected as the first capital city in the Middle East for the launch of the World Bank's "World Development Report 2000-2001" on alleviating poverty. This was announced at a press conference held here by Dr. Prajapati Trivedi, resident economist, World Bank Resident Mission in Saudi Arabia.
He said the conference would start with an introductory address by Dr. Jobarah Al-Suraisry, deputy minister of finance and national economy. Dr. John Page, chair of the Poverty Sector Board and director of Poverty Reduction at the World Bank, will deliver the keynote address.
Other speakers include: Abdullah Al-Mogbel, deputy minister of communications; Dr. Mohammed H. Mufti, director of Security Forces Hospital, Ministry of Interior; Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, minister of finance, Government of Sindh, Pakistan; Edgar Saravia, Resident Representative, World Bank Resident Mission, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Trivedi said a total of 200 invited guests are expected to attend the conference, which will start at the UN office in the Diplomatic Quarter at 10 a.m. Saturday.
He said Riyadh had been selected as the venue for the maiden launch in the Middle East because of the Kingdom's major contribution to poverty reduction programs through its own agency, the Saudi Fund for Development, and through the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank.
According to Minister of Finance and National Economy Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, the Kingdom ranks first among the donor countries. The Saudi Fund for Development has disbursed during the last 25 years financial assistance worth SR21.6 billion to 63 countries. He said the Kingdom's assistance as a percentage of its GDP exceeds the UN aid target of 0.7 percent by rich countries.
Dr. Trivedi, author of five books on economics and a visiting professor at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, also spoke about the changing role of the World Bank. He said the Bank was becoming more of a 'Knowledge Bank' than a lending bank.
The best illustration of this concept was WB's role in Saudi Arabia, where it was involved in at least 40 ongoing projects, including areas like waste water management, electricity and privatization of industrial estates. World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn paid tributes to the resident mission in the Kingdom for setting a good example to other WB missions.
Dr. Trivedi said a major symposium, "Future Vision of Saudi Economy" will be held in Riyadh in October with the support of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard. The collaborating agency is the Ministry of Planning which played an important role in organizing the conference.
