World Bank

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WORLD BANK

The international organization lends to developing countries of the Middle East.

The World Bank is based in Washington, D.C. It includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Agency (IDA). IBRD has two affiliates, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

IBRD was established in 1945 and is owned by 152 countries. The bank's resources come from its capital, retained earnings, and very large loans from the world financial markets (US$8.9 billion in 1994). Its high creditworthiness allows it to borrow

statement of subscriptions to the capital stock and voting power of middle eastern countries
country	capital subscribed*	capital paid*	% of vote
*in millions of dollars.
source: World Bank Annual Report, 2001. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2001.
table by ggs information services, the gale group.
algeria	1,116.10	67.10	0.59
bahrain	133.10	5.70	0.08
egypt	857.50	50.90	0.46
iran	2,857.42	175.80	1.48
iraq	338.70	27.10	0.19
israel	573.00	33.20	0.31
jordan	167.40	7.80	0.10
kuwait	1,602.00	97.40	0.84
lebanon	41.00	1.10	0.04
libya	945.80	57.00	0.50
morocco	599.90	34.80	0.32
oman	188.30	9.10	0.11
qatar	132.20	9.00	0.08
saudi arabia	5,404.80	335.00	2.79
syria	265.60	14.00	0.15
u.a.e.	287.70	22.60	0.16
total	15,539.50	926.60	8.20

**Loans to Middle East Countries by the World Bank in 2001**
country	ibrd† loans	ibrd loan amounts*	ida‡ loan amounts*
*in millions of dollars
†international bank for reconstruction and development
‡international development association
source: World Bank Annual Report, 2001. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2001.
table by ggs information services, the gale group.
algeria	2	41.70
egypt	0	0
jordan	1	120.00
lebanon	1	20.00
morocco	2	97.60
tunisia	3	75.90
yemen			142.30
total	9	355.20	142.30

at the most competitive rates. IBRD lends to the more advanced developing countries on creditworthy and productive projects. Pricing is based on the cost of funds to the bank. Loans are made to governments or are guaranteed by governments. Total IBRD loans made in 1994 totaled US$20,836 million. IFC, established in 1956, and MIGA, established in 1984, deal with the private sectors of the developing countries. MIGA is mandated to encourage private equity investments by providing noncommercial risk guarantees. IDA lends interest free to the very poor countries with an annual per capital GNP of US$650 or less per year. The loans have very long maturities and up to a ten-year grace period.

The World Bank's executive board is responsible for the general operations of the bank. The board approves projects, funding programs, and general management of both the IBRD and the IDA. The board is composed of twenty-four members. Each member represents and votes for his country as per its percentage contribution to the capital of either IBRD or IDA. Certain countries also will represent blocs of smaller members and vote on their behalf. The largest vote belongs to the United States, which contributes 17.42 percent of IBRD capital and 15.67 percent of IDA capital. Saudi Arabia has the largest single Arab state representation on the World Bank board with 2.79 percent of the votes of the IBRD.

**Relative voting strength on the World Bank board of Middle East countries**
members on the executive board	% votes in international bank for reconstruction and development	% votes in international development association
source: World Bank, February 25, 2003.
table by ggs information services, the gale group.
algeria	.51	.21
saudi arabia	2.79	3.57
kuwait	.84	.59
total	4.14	4.37

In the Middle East, the World Bank's stated goals are "to emphasize sustained commitment to operations and analytical work, to promote employment-led growth, to foster human resources development, and to improve natural resource management." The bank provides support to countries that agree to implement stabilization and structural reform. These conditions imply substantial efforts to reduce budget deficits, cut subsidies, allow currencies to reach their market levels, and privatize the economy.