The World Bank is prepared to play amore aggressive role in promoting Third World development, bank
president Barber Conable said in a magazine interview.
    "Our plans include initiatives on the debt front, as well as
greater emphasis on debt-equity swaps and the promotion of
private investment in Third World countries through our
affiliate, the International Financial Corporation," Conable
told Newsweek International.
    Conable, who has just completed his first year as head of
the World Bank, said the bank's mission remains the development
of Third World nations.
    "The bank is primarily a development institution, not a
debt-management agency. But debt must be managed effectively or
it hampers development," he told Newsweek.
    Conable said the bank must step in to help relieve the debt
crisis, which has prompted a number of U.S. commercial banks to
write off a portion of their Third World loans.
    Conable defended his own reorganization plan for the World
Bank, which he said was aimed at improving efficiency and
limiting a growing bureaucracy.
    And he said environmental considerations will play a larger
role in the evaluation of proposed projects.
 Reuter
