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08 June, 2007
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Robert Zoellick, US President George W. Bush's nominee to head the World Bank, said in Addis Ababa Thursday he wanted "to listen and to learn" during his trip to Africa.
He told reporters in the Ethiopian capital that "the primary purpose of my visit in Africa is to listen and learn. I want to hear about what is working and what is not working in Africa, including in the World Bank work."
Zoellick, who is set to succeed Paul Wolfowitz when he steps down at the head of the poverty-fighting institution at the end of the month, said African nations were expecting several things from the World Bank.
He told reporters there was a lot of respect for the World Bank's work but that African states "would like the decision process to move more quickly, and increased support for regional organisations."
Praising integration efforts on the continent, notably in the form of the African Union, Zoellick also underlined that "efforts have to be done on corruption because the donors want to know where the money is going to."
Asked about the ongoing G8 summit of leading industrial nations in Germany, Zoellick said: "The most important (thing) is that Africa remains high on the agenda of the developing countries."
Zoellick met with ambassadors from the African Union during his trip to Addis Ababa, where the AU is based, and also with members of the Ethiopian government.
His African trip, part of a two-week international tour, began Wednesday in Ghana, and his next stop in South Africa.
Wolfowitz announced last month that he would step down as head of the World bank on June 30, following a scandal over a pay and promotions package he arranged for his girlfriend, a bank employee.
The US, which traditionally nominates the bank president while Europe chooses the head of the International Monetary Fund, named Zoellick as his successor, but the move still has to be formally approved by the bank itself.