24/2/2006
European Commission Welcomes World Bank's Announcement of Africa Fund

The European Commission has welcomed the World Bank Group’s recently announced Africa Catalytic Growth Fund, saying that both institutions are determined to support and to accelerate shared economic growth and to assist in the achievement of Millennium Development Goals that have proved difficult to attain in Africa.

The World Bank Group Trust Fund complements the European Trust Fund on Infrastructure, which was launched on February 9th by the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a new tool to implement the Euro-Africa partnership on infrastructure. Both institutions are also key actors in development co-operation and have now new means to better respond to the African challenges.

"Last year, the international community has taken substantial commitments to raise more money for development aid and deliver it better and faster," said Louis Michel, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. "This year we must deliver on these commitments."

Last December, the European Union adopted the European Consensus on Development and the EU Strategy for Africa. Today the EU has a joint strategy for development shared by all its Member States and by the Commission alike. The World Bank has equally adopted an Action Plan to support Africa in September 2005. To establish synergy and complementarity between the two strategies, both institutions are engaged in frequent consultations.

Development is a global effort, say the European Commission, and both the EU and the World Bank share the same objective of growth and poverty eradication in Africa. The two Trust Funds will allow the two institutions rapidly to channel additional resources from other partners to Africa with the aim of accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals