21 05 13 WB – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim to Make Historic Joint Visit to Africa’s Great Lakes Region May 22-24

Kim and Mr. Ban will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from May 22nd – 23rd; Rwanda from May 23rd – 24th; and Uganda on May 24th.

The visit will draw attention to the plight of fragile and
conflict-affected countries struggling to meet the Millennium
Development Goals and will highlight the commitment of the two
international organizations to jointly tackle global conflict and
poverty.

The trip also follows a groundbreaking agreement — the “Peace,
Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and the region” – that was signed in February by 11 African
nations to end conflict in DRC and bring peace to the Great Lakes
region. The signatories are Angola, Burundi, the Central African
Republic (CAR), Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

“This comprehensive new approach gives the DRC and the
Great Lakes region its best hope for peace in many years. But
commitments on paper must translate into action on the ground. A peace
deal must deliver a peace dividend – development, opportunity and hope
for people who have suffered for too long,” said the UN Secretary-General.

While in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the region’s largest
economy, Kim and Mr. Ban will meet with President Joseph Kabila, Prime
Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, ministers and other officials. The
leaders will discuss how the UN and the World Bank can best support the
Framework agreement.

In Rwanda, a country that in the last 10 years has significantly
improved governance and increased growth from 1% in 2003 to 8.2% in
2013, Kim and Mr. Ban will meet with President Paul Kagame and members
of his Cabinet. The two men will also visit with ex-combatants to hear
about efforts to demobilize and reintegrate men and women returning to
their communities following years of conflict.

The visit to Africa will end in Uganda where the two leaders will meet with President Yoweri Museveni and other officials.

“The leaders of the Great Lakes region will be the key
drivers of peace, stability and economic growth.  We pledge that the
United Nations and the World Bank Group will work closely together in
new and deeper ways, following the governments’ lead,” Kim said.
“We need to ensure that implementation of the political and security
aspects of the framework agreement goes hand-in-hand with the economic
development that is essential to lasting peace and stability.”

Africa’s Great Lakes region has been destabilized by years of
conflict in the DRC that also has spread to neighboring nations. The
instability has destroyed infrastructure, limiting access to electricity
and damaging trade corridors, limited governments’ ability to deliver
basic services to their citizens, weakened health and education systems
and led to high unemployment and low economic growth rates.

Despite the challenges, countries in the region are working hard to
rebuild, improve governance and invest in natural and human resources
with the support of the United Nations and the World Bank Group.

The World Bank Group is working closely with governments, the private
sector and international partners to support reconstruction and help
the countries of the Great Lakes realize their development goals.  It
has to date invested approximately US$6.7 billion in DRC’s development
program; US$2.5 billion in Rwanda’s; and US$7.3 billion in Uganda’s.