Dr. Simeon Djankov:

In the last calendar year the World Bank invested more than $100 billion directly and about double that amount through the funds we manage, either through particular governments or particular international pools of money. About half of that goes directly to private companies of the type the Senator mentioned. It has to have a development goal and that goal can be social, for example, schools, whether private or public, and health systems, and there is a lot of investment in basic infrastructure, as was mentioned. We realise that countries must have the ability to carry on commerce, in particular traditional commerce, which requires ports, airports, bridges and so on, and especially across countries. Our main goal is to develop the economies in order for people to live healthier, easier and more prosperous lives. Of course, this has to happen through the growth of the economy, trade and services. Every year we have some 3,000 projects, primarily in emerging markets. At the same time, we often work with companies, including Irish and European companies, that have global or at least regional presence and, through this presence, use their technology and their human capital in the service of a large part of the world. We are precisely in that development business.