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BOARDS OF GOVERNORS l 1997 ANNUAL MEETINGS l HONG KONG, CHINA
WORLD BANK GROUP
INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTES
MULTILATERAL INVESTMENT GUARANTEE AGENCY
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Press Release No. 72
September 23 - 25, 1997
Concluding Remarks by the Chairman, MOHAMMED K. KHIRBASH,
Governor of the Bank and the Fund for the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES,
at the Closing Joint Session
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN
THE HON. MOHAMMED K. KHIRBASH
As Chairman of the Boards of Governors, it is now my duty to
bring these deliberations to a close. It has been a great privilege to have
served as the Chairman of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the
Fund. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the
support and kindness extended to me during my tenure. On behalf of all
of us, I would also like to thank Premier Li Peng for his words of
encouragement and the government of China and the people of Hong
Kong for their warm and generous hospitality.
As these 1997 Annual Meetings draw to a close, I would like to
review briefly some of the major themes that have emerged from our
discussions and their implications for our two partner institutions. We
have all recognised, I think, that the increasing globalization of the
world economy has brought great benefits in terms of economic growth
and poverty reduction. But we have also recognised what Mr
Wolfensohn said at the beginning of our discussions, that too many
people in too many countries have yet to enjoy the fruits of success. It is
also clear that the increasing interdependence of national economies and
financial markets requires what Mr Camdessus has described as an even
more far reaching sense of national responsibility and international
solidarity. In this context the need for strong partnerships both between
our two Bretton Woods institutions and more broadly with national
governments, other