World Bank wins pledges for $100-billion replenishment of fund for poorest countries

• Donor nations have committed a record $100-billion over three years to the World Bank's fund for the poorest countries, aimed at combating debt, climate crises, and conflict.
• The announcement was made at a Seoul conference for the International Development Association, surpassing the previous $93-billion replenishment from December 2021.

The World Bank made the announcement early on Friday in Seoul at a pledging conference for the International Development Association, which provides grants and very low interest loans to some 78 low-income countries.

The total exceeds the previous $93-billion IDA replenishment announced in December 2021. Countries will contribute about $24-billion directly to IDA, but the fund will issue bonds and employ other financial leverage to stretch that to the targeted $100 billion in grants and loans through mid 2028.

But the two-day pledging conference fell short of the $120-billion goal that some developing countries had called for, partly because the dollar's strength-- pushed up by Donald Trump's US presidential election victory -- diminished the dollar value of significant increases in foreign currency contributions by several countries.

At a G20 leaders' summit in Brazil last month, Norway increased its pledge by 50% from 2021 to 5.024 billion krone. That's $455-illion at current exchange rates, but at the start of 2024, it would have been worth $496-million.

South Korea boosted its pledge by 45% to 846 billion won, ($597-billion), Britain by 40% to 1.8 billion pounds, while Spain boosted its contribution to 400 million euros, a pledge worth $423-million -- $10-million less than the day it was announced in October.

US President Joe Biden pledged a $4-billion U.S. contribution, up from $3.5-billion in the previous round.

 

(Reporting by David Lawder. Editing by Shri Navaratnam)