Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide further details on his senior level meeting with the World Bank; and if it will signal any change in Ireland's economic engagement with developing countries. [44818/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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My colleague, the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Mr Joe Costello T.D., visited Washington in September and held discussions with senior officials from the World Bank. Ireland works closely with the World Bank through the Department of Finance and through the Government’s aid programme, Irish Aid, which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The World Bank Group supports developing countries in their fight against poverty by providing the financial and technical assistance needed to promote trade and investment. In 2011, the Department of Finance provided €18 million to the International Development Association, one of the five agencies within the World Bank Group, which in turn provides grants and long term, zero interest loans to the world’s poorest countries. In addition Irish Aid contributes to a number of global and programme country trust funds managed by the Bank Group focusing on the fight against hunger, the provision of basic needs, private sector development, and fragile and conflict affected states.

Minister Costello discussed the strong relationship between Irish Aid and the World Bank, over a wide range of our development priorities including hunger, nutrition and agricultural productivity. The Bank provided him with a valuable update on its work in fragile and unstable States. He was in a position to brief senior officials on the findings of his recent visit to Jordan where he saw at first hand the scale of the refugee crisis as a result of the conflict in Syria.

The Minister also discussed Ireland’s forthcoming EU Presidency role, and especially our focus on facilitating substantive discussions on the EU’s approach for the formulation of the framework for global development after 2015. He also engaged Bank officials on the crucial role of the private sector in driving economic growth, creating jobs and reducing poverty. He briefed the Bank on the development of the new Africa Strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and discussed the opportunities for Irish business in Africa in the context of increasing two way trade between Ireland and Africa.

We look forward to further meetings at Ministerial level with the World Bank and to developing a closer working relationship on development and on economic and trade issues.