Thursday European Development Days opened in Stockholm. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Managing Director of the World Bank, is at EDD to hold a speech. The theme of the day is measures to combat the global economic downturn. "The World Bank has a central role to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis in the developing countries," says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in an interview.

The financial crisis and the subsequent economic downturn have hit many developing countries hard. Exports have fallen, as have foreign investment and development assistance. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has worked for the World Bank for more than 20 years. For three years, she served as Minister for Finance in her home country of Nigeria, the first woman to hold that post.
"The developed world has deep pockets. When the crisis struck, they were able to reach into their pockets for massive fiscal stimulus. The developing countries do not have those resources, especially the poorest countries needed resources to counteract the effects of the crisis. This is where the World Bank has played an extremely important role," says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She continues:
"The World Bank has stepped up the availability of resources to the developing countries this past year by 54 per cent to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis. USD 58.1 billion, of which 14 billion were allocated to the poorest countries.

Important to maintain infrastructure

Ms Okonjo-Iweala says that the World Bank has focused on building social safety nets, creating employment opportunities and maintaining infrastructure.
"During a downturn, it is very important not to allow a country’s infrastructure to fall into disrepair. If you do, it will be all the more difficult to make a come-back after the crisis."
The World Bank has also worked to facilitate trade and micro-financing.
"But we have done more than just work on the financial crisis. Before that, we had the food crisis when we provided targeted help to the poorest countries in a fast and effective way. We helped millions of farmers and families and that is the way we want to go with the Bank: to be fast and to be active."

New voting system

The World Bank is currently in the process of implementing a new voting system. The objective is to give poorer countries more say.
"Even countries needing assistance must be allowed a voice. 'You cannot assist me if you do not know in what to assist. Give me a voice so I can be part of the conversation, so that you will not make mistakes.' So we fully support this rebalancing of votes."

Eco-efficient economy

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala feels that it is possible for developing countries’ economies to grow in an eco-efficient way, with better use of resources and a reduction in emissions.
"Absolutely. New technology can create jobs. But the technology must be more accessible. The developed world got where it is today by using up large parts of the resources of the world. Now the developing countries ask why they should not grow in the same way. But it is not about not growing, it is about growing in a different way."

The most important factors to create development

The three most important factors in order for a country to develop and lift itself out of poverty are, according to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, first of all leadership.
"The second is to invest in people. Especially women and girls. A country that wants to advance must invest in women's futures. This is absolutely essential. The third factor is to invest in the country’s production capacity."