Building on the last 60 years of partnership, the World Bank and Korea are now equal partners in international development, sharing knowledge to help the world become a more equitable and prosperous place, the World Bank Group’s special representative to Korea Office told The Korea Herald last week.

“Korea joined the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 1955, and became the first foreign aid recipient country to become a donor when it entered the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee in 2010,” Joyce Msuya said in an interview.

“Our partnership has been one of true evolution, fostering deep trust and respect, as well as willingness and commitment to collaborate.”

Msuya has worked with the WBG for 17 years, covering assignments in the public and private sectors on strategies and analysis, lending and investment operations and partnerships in Africa, Latin America and Asia. 

The multilateral institution aims to reduce global poverty and create opportunities for development through leveraged loans. It consists of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

The institution aims to end extreme poverty in the world by 2030 and boost shared prosperity by lifting the incomes of the bottom 40 percent of population.

Korea’s experience in sustainable development and transition to a dynamic knowledge-based economy provide lessons that benefit many other developing countries, according to the WBG. In an effort to deepen engagement with Korea, the WBG opened a national office in Songdo, Incheon, in December 2013.

Currently, the group has a series of partnerships and joint projects with Korean partners designed to enhance financial sector management, promote investment in green infrastructure and energy, share knowledge in information and communications technology and assist fragile and conflict-ridden states.

To realize these objectives, the Korea Office shares global knowledge with Korean institutions such as the Korea Development Institute and the Korea Eximbank, collaborates with Korean companies and works to deepen engagement with the Korean government.

“Our office looks for ways to help clients in Asia’s developing countries, by assessing their risks and opportunities and leveraging our presence here through public-private partnerships,” she said.

“As an example, we try to look for successful cases of labor and regulatory reforms in Korea that can be used as advice. We also bring in information from other OECD countries.”

Despite the world’s intensifying geopolitical tensions and gloomy financial forecast, Msuya said there are still numerous opportunities to cooperate between the World Bank and Korea.

She cited the case of the new Expressway Development Support Project in Ethiopia, designed to help the country expand its road networks between the southern, central and northern regions, where the Korea Eximbank, the World Bank and the African Development Bank have worked together.

As another example, Msuya pointed to the “Vietnam 2035 Report,” where Korean policy experts and the World Bank team have informed the Vietnamese government on institutional capacity-building and bureaucratic governance reform.

“As a global institution, we bring the international knowledge and perspective to support Korea achieve its ambitions,” she highlighted.

“Korea has a very good brand overall in the world. By becoming a foreign aid donor from a recipient, Korea can actually speak with credibility on the international stage.”

Regarding the relationship with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Korea is joining as a founding member, Msuya said the World Bank will closely cooperate with the institution once it starts operations.

“One trillion dollars goes into infrastructure development each year, with most going into developed countries. This implies that in emerging, low-income markets, there is a huge infrastructure deficit,” she stressed.

“No single institution can meet these enormous demands. Our team will work very closely with the AIIB secretariat in Beijing, by including them as part of our consultation process and connecting with Korean stakeholders.”

She added that the two organizations already share views, from safeguards on environmental standards to governance structure, using video conferencing.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)