World Bank, Carter Center Collaboration Yields Economic Development, Political Dialogue

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World Bank, Carter Center Collaboration Yields Economic Development, Political Dialogue
1 Jun 2005

(This article appears courtesy of the World Bank.)

WASHINGTON...Scarcely a day's headlines go by without new evidence of the intimate link between peace and prosperity, conflict and catastrophe. Resurrecting societies, restoring security, and fostering country-led development in nations emerging from chaos and conflict are daunting challenges that can only be overcome through the collaborative efforts of many parties. Two such parties, the Bank Group and The Carter Center, increasingly bring their complementary strengths to bear in the same arenas and toward the same goals.

"Two years ago," recalls World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn, "I was privileged to join the presidents of Guyana, Mali, and Mozambique at The Carter Center for a discussion with President Jimmy Carter on the link between security and development. I believe that the discussion helped cement a fruitful partnership."

A year ago, President Carter returned that visit, meeting at the Bank with Wolfensohn, executive directors, and staff to discuss the work that the Bank Group and The Carter Center are doing in developing countries and explore ways to collaborate.

The partnership between the two institutions is based on their different, but complementary, mandates and strengths. The Bank Group has a global reach and poverty reduction mission, for example, while The Carter Center is able to engage with countries' internal politics and build national consensus.

Collaboration between the two institutions has deepened since President Carter's visit to 1818 "H" Street. In Albania, the Bank Group and the Center are collaborating to support a participatory process for developing a long-term vision for the country, and the Bank Group has used trust fund resources to finance Carter Center work. In Mozambique, efforts are under way to help coordinate the country's "Vision 2025" (to which The Carter Center contributed) with the Bank-supported PRSP process. In Mali and Guyana, staff of both institutions are exploring opportunities to support enhanced implementation of the countries' development strategies and to strengthen country leadership of aid coordination. In both Venezuela and Liberia, The Carter Center is supporting dialogue and reforms and has approached the Bank Group for trust fund support.

These efforts highlight the scope for further collaboration between the two institutions, notably in low-income and conflict-affected countries. Such collaboration would likely center on the following:

Facilitating dialogue and other consensus-building processes
Working on governance processes and political economy issues—rule of law, anticorruption
Promoting human rights in development
Working to help prevent conflict and rebuild societies emerging from conflict
Building strong partnerships among NGOs, and with donor institutions and others in the development community.

"The passage of time," says President Wolfensohn, "has only reinforced my conviction that the compelling need to reduce conflict and poverty and to give greater voice to poor people in that effort, calls for greater collaboration between our two institutions, and I urge staff to seek additional opportunities to work closely together."

Read about the Carter Center's Global Development Initiative.

President Carter and to his left, Carter Center Executive Director Dr. John Hardman, met with World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn and its directors at the Bank's Washington headquarters in August 2003. Photo courtesy of the World Bank.

World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn and President Carter. Photo courtesy of the World Bank.