The World Bank Group (WBG) is a global partnership working towards a sustainable solution to help reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries, and has committed to allocate 80 million U.S dollars for the infrastructure of countries signed up for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to promote regional integration and bolster the economy of political partners internationally. Along with these commitments, the WBG also has numerous projects that address infrastructure, trade, and connectivity in its project pipeline.
President of The World Bank Group, David R. Malpass, stated that the WBG was in a position to provide support for the BRI. Malpass also said it could support BRI projects due to the World Bank Group’s experience with connectivity projects, international trade as well as an extensive range of financial and non-financial services. By employing regional integration and helping countries to promote BRI, countries will be able to overcome divisions that concern the flow of goods, services, capital, people, and ideas. Such divisions create a constraint for developing countries, more so their economic growth. Promoting regional integration through physical and institutional infrastructure, will require cooperation between the countries in terms of trade, energy, infrastructure, financial policies, as well as the provision of public goods.
Talking on a comprehensive study about the economic impact of the former president of the BRI, Jim Yong Kim stated that the WBG will cooperate with Chinese institutions on setting standards to combat corruption. Kim also expressed that even though developing countries do not have the best infrastructure, “the broader connectivity and integration” focus should go beyond just building roads, railways, and bridges.