Chapter Seven: Multilateral Replenishments
Multilateral development banks4
| Asian Development Fund — Asian Development
Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative International Development Association — World Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development Total Multilateral Development Banks $188.2 million |
$97.3 million $14.7 million $73.2 million $3.0 million $188.2 million |
Australia works closely with multilateral organisations that have demonstrated effectiveness, and whose activities complement our own bilateral programs and are consistent with our wider national interests.
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are key multilateral partners who are able to leverage very significant financial resources and expertise for sustainable development and poverty reduction. The ADB’s regional focus makes it an important partner in promoting growth and stability in the Asia–Pacific. The World Bank is an unparalleled source of development analysis and specialist program implementation, and a leading forum for global development policy.
Australia’s membership and financial contributions to the ADB and the World Bank provide an opportunity to influence their policies and priorities at the highest levels. A key ongoing objective of our relationship is to ensure that the activities of both banks recognise and effectively target key development priorities in our region.
Australia will continue to work closely with the ADB to implement its 2005–09 Pacific Strategy including through its recently opened Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office in Sydney. Other key priorities include actively encouraging the ADB to fund new ways to engage with fragile states. Australia will provide $97.3 million in 2005–06 to the ADB’s concessional lending arm, the Asian Development Fund.
With the World Bank, Australia will work to ensure that the outcomes from the recently concluded negotiations to replenish the World Bank’s concessional lending arm, the International Development Association, are implemented. Australia has committed $389.2 million over ten years to this replenishment and succeeded in gaining a Bank commitment to make stronger efforts to engage with small and fragile states, particularly those in the Asia–Pacific region. In 2005–06, Australia will provide $73.2 million to the International Development Association.
In 2005–06 Australia will provide $14.7 million to the World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which provides multilateral debt relief to the world’s poorest and most heavily indebted countries. Of this figure, $11.5 million will be provided as part of an additional three-year $34.8 million contribution by the Australian Government to the HIPC Initiative. The remainder relates to previous commitments. Australia is also committed to providing 100 per cent bilateral debt forgiveness for those countries that qualify for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative.
4 Figures for the Multilateral Development Banks are calculated on a cash basis. Refer to Technical Notes for further details.