Zoellick defends lending to India
Visiting World Bank President Robert Zoellick has justified lending to India, saying despite its economic progress it still has a vast number of poor people.
Speaking in New Delhi on his first trip to India after being made the bank president, Zoellick disagreed with those who said India’s economic boom will allow it raise funds from private sources. He said India has the same number of poor people as in all of sub-Saharan Africa, Voice of America reported.
India still ranks as the top recipient of World Bank loans while China ranks the sixth.
Zoellick said China and India have influential roles in formulating bank policies, although both are under-represented in terms of bank voting rights, the report said.
“When the Indian and Chinese executive directors speak up, regardless of the formal votes -- because not many things are done in formal votes in those institutions -- they're listened to because they're representing big and influential countries,” Zoellick said.
He next visits Bangladesh. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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