The World Bank is prepared to help Saudi Arabia firm up its USD500 million “Energy for the Poor” initiative. The money would come from the Saudi Fund for Development. “We will work with the Saudi government to explore how best to support the initiative announced by King Abdullah to address the energy needs of the world’s poorest countries,” World Bank president Robert Zoellick remarked. “The combination of high fuel and energy costs is having a devastating impact on the poor, putting an especially large burden on the 1 billion people who live on less than USD1 a day, many of whom spend two-thirds of their income on food for their families and on energy and transport,” he continued. At a gathering of oil producing and consuming countries in Jeddah, King Abdullah requested the World Bank to hold a donor conference on the proposed program.
Source: World Bank to help with Saudi loan plan-Zoellick (Reuters)
