Americas

Zoellick to be nominated to World Bank

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-30 20:53

Zoellick announced last June that he was leaving his post as deputy secretary of state to join the Wall Street firm of Goldman Sachs and work to develop investment markets around the world.

If ultimately approved as World Bank chief, Zoellick will need to regain trust, rebuild credibility and mend frayed relations inside the institution as well as with its member countries around the world.

All those matters are critical for the bank's new leader, who will have to persuade countries to contribute nearly $30 billion over the next few years to fund a centerpiece bank program that provides interest-free loans to the world's poorest countries.

"The test of Zoellick is whether he manages to turn around the bank, which has been in huge disarray," said Elizabeth Stuart, senior policy adviser for Oxfam International, a group involved in helping the world's poor.

Zoellick could build upon strong relations he has developed worldwide as deputy secretary and U.S. Trade Representative. He was involved in peace talks in Sudan and as USTR he played a key role in negotiations to bring China into the World Trade Organization. He forged free trade deals between the United States and other countries, including Singapore, Chile, Australia and Morocco.

Some global health and environment groups expressed concerns over Zoellick as the next bank chief.

Peru, however, welcomed the selection.

"My impression is that it's a good choice President Bush is making," Peruvian Foreign Trade Minister Mercedes Araoz told The Associated Press. "He was a driving force of the U.S. trade agenda in seeking association with developing countries, among them Peru."

"Professionally, he's competent but I'm not so sure about his background in developing economies or in helping developing countries," said Charad D. Wadhva, professor emeritus at the Center for Policy Research, a New Delhi think tank. "He may have to learn a lot to understand the needs of the developing countries. He understands the needs of the developed countries very well. "

The Wolfowitz episode threw the bank's staff into a revolt, strained relations with the Europeans, and threatened to tarnish the bank's reputation and hobble its ability to fight poverty.

Before taking the helm in 2005, Wolfowitz was the No. 2 official at the Pentagon and played a key role in mapping out the war in Iraq. From the beginning, Europeans and others were upset that Bush would pick someone to run the bank who was so closely associated with the war.