World Bank chief arrives in Mauritania at start of African tour

2 hours ago

NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) — World Bank President Robert Zoellick arrived Sunday in Nouakchott to begin his first official tour of Africa since succeeding Paul Wolfowitz in July 2007.

Zoellick was met by Mauritania's Economy Minister Abderrahmane Ould Hama Vezaz ahead of meetings with government and private sector officials.

He will visit sites funded by the World Bank and sign agreements with Mauritania related to infrastructure, natural resource management and the private sector.

After Mauritania, Zoellick moves on to Liberia and Mozambique, before finishing in Ethiopia, where he is to attend the African Union summit running from January 31 to February 2.

A former US trade chief and Goldman Sachs executive, Zoellick took the helm of the Bank after a favoritism scandal forced Wolfowitz to resign.

Among other ideas, Zoellick has called for placing agriculture at the heart of the Bank's anti-poverty drive, for the private sector to finance aid to the poorest countries and for a 21st-century 'green revolution' for Africa.