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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General meets World Bank,IMF Heads and US Vice President

18 January 2002

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, met Mr Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank and Mr Kohler, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in Washington D.C. on 17 January 2002. Their discussions covered a wide range of developmental issues of importance to Commonwealth governments.

The Secretary-General's meeting with Mr Wolfensohn covered a broad range of global development issues including the impact of September 11 and the response by the international community, the forthcoming Financing for Development Event, and progress on HIPC debt relief. Mr Wolfensohn and Mr McKinnon also focused on the agenda on small states that the Commonwealth and World Bank have been jointly pursuing for some time. They further discussed the urgent need to encourage greater investment in Africa. They agreed that the World Bank and the Commonwealth could work together to launch a successor fund to the Commonwealth's Africa Investment Fund, COMAFIN 1, which is now fully invested. Capacity building and an increasing role for distance learning also featured in their discussions.

With Mr Kohler, Managing Director of the IMF, the Secretary-General talked about the pressing need to meet the Millennium Development Goals in order to reduce poverty. Mr Kohler and Mr McKinnon agreed that a continued emphasis on HIPC debt relief; a commitment to reduce tariff levels; and increased ODA flows by developed countries would go some way to reducing poverty.

The Commonwealth works closely with the World Bank and IMF for the benefit of its membership. The Secretary-General's visit to the headquarters of both the Bank and IMF in Washington D.C. underlines the importance of that relationship.

Whilst in Washington D.C. Mr McKinnon met with United States Vice President Dick Cheney.

Mr McKinnon informed the Vice President of the statement on terrorism issued by Commonwealth Heads of Government following the 11 September attacks and of the Commonwealth Committee on Terrorism he has constituted to help Commonwealth members comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1373.


Note to Editors:
COMAFIN I was launched in 1996 and has made successful investments in privately owned banks, horticulture, mobile communications and mining companies in Africa. The main investors in the closed end fund are government agencies from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

18 January 2002
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