WASHINGTON, January 29, 2012 (WAFA) - Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank Group, starts Monday a three-day visit to the Palestinian Territory and Israel to discuss development issues, a World Bank press release said Sunday.
Zoellick, who will be making his first visit as World Bank president to the region, will meet Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials and will give a talk at the annual Herzliya Conference on “The Future of the Global Economy.”
“With the World Bank Group’s deep engagement with the Middle East and North Africa, I am looking forward to visiting Israel and Palestinian Authority to find out more about development challenges,” said Zoellick.
“I want to see what more the World Bank can do to support Palestinians in their efforts to overcome poverty and to further cooperation in development expertise with our Israeli partners,” he said.
The World Bank has so far invested $900 million in the Palestinian Territory through the Trust Fund for Gaza and West Bank established in 1993.
M.H./M.S.
