Ireland to give $200m to World Bank fund for poorest countries
FILE PHOTO: The World Bank logo is seen at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
WASHINGTON - Ireland will contribute about €141.4 million (S$210 million) to the World Bank's latest replenishment of its fund for the poorest countries, a 33.5 per cent increase over the country's previous contribution, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday.
The money will go to the International Development Association, which provides a lifeline for the poorest nations' struggles against crushing debts, climate disasters, inflation and conflict, as part of its latest replenishing round.
"Ireland has been a long-time supporter of the work of the World Bank and this contribution will further Ireland's international development goals which focus on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Donohoe said in a statement during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.
The replenishment of IDA, which happens every three years, has come into focus at this week's meetings as US President Donald Trump's administration seeks to reset its relationship with the Bretton Woods institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
In December, the World Bank had announced donor pledges to IDA had hit a record US$100 billion - including a US$4 billion contribution made last year by former US President Joe Biden's administration.
However, it is unclear whether the Trump administration will follow through on this pledge.
Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said no decision has been made and that it will depend on US budget negotiations and the World Bank's progress in improving its focus on development outcomes.
Some European countries also have trimmed their pledges amid a global trend that has seen governments focus spending on defence and domestic projects and away from development aid.
World Bank President Ajay Banga said last week that if the US were to not follow through and some European countries cut back, the latest funding round could be reduced to between US$80 billion and US$85 billion.
"In light of the current international landscape, geo-political tensions, and decisions by others in respect of commitments to Official Development Assistance, it is now more important than ever that we step up and make a contribution where we can," Ireland's Donohoe said. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
34 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Australian regulator cracks down on 'finfluencers' over unlawful financial advice
ASIC said it is concerned that consumers could be harmed by finfluencers providing unauthorised financial product advice. PHOTO ILLUSTRAION: UNSPLASH Australian regulator cracks down on 'finfluencers' over unlawful financial advice Australia's corporate regulator said on June 12 it had issued warnings to a number of social media 'finfluencers', accusing them of offering misleading financial advice and promoting high-risk investment products to their followers. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) warned that the accounts often provided deceptive information and flagged it had sent notices to 18 social media 'finfluencers' who were not licensed to provide financial advice. The action was taken as part of the Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers held last week, which saw regulators from around the world using regulatory and enforcement powers against unlawful financial influencers. Measures against such illegal activity included arrests, warning notices, website takedowns, and alerts to consumers of the risks of unauthorised and misleading finfluencer content. ASIC said it is concerned that consumers could be harmed by finfluencers providing unauthorised financial product advice and promoting high-risk, complex investment products, such as contracts for difference (CFDs) and over the counter (OTC) derivative products. If a finfluencer is not licensed, an authorised representative or exempt, they are legally not permitted to carry on a business of providing investment business in Australia, the regulator said. ASIC along with market regulators from the UK, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Hong Kong and Canada took coordinated actions against such unauthorised finfluencers. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AsiaOne
42 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Ukraine brings home bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in war with Russia, World News
KYIV — Ukraine has brought home the bodies of 1,212 soldiers killed in the war with Russia, the Kyiv officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Wednesday (June 11). In Moscow, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine for its part had returned 27 bodies of Russian soldiers. "As a result of the repatriation activities..., the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders have been returned to Ukraine," Kyiv's prisoner exchange coordination committee said on the Telegram messaging app. It released photos from the scene showing personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at an undisclosed location, walking past several refrigerated trucks. Some trucks were marked with emblems of On the Shield, a Ukrainian organisation involved in the retrieval and evacuation of military dead. Kyiv and Moscow reached agreement at their most recent round of talks last week on a large-scale exchange of corpses of war dead, though the deal was marred by wrangling over its implementation. On Sunday, Medinsky said Ukraine had postponed taking the first 1,212 bodies. Russian officials also said that refrigerated trucks loaded with corpses waited for five days at the border before Ukraine accepted them. [[nid:718957]] Ukraine's coordination body said a deal had been reached on repatriating bodies but the date had not been finalised, and accused Russia of unilateral and uncoordinated actions. On June 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia wanted to transfer 6,000 bodies back to Ukraine, but that only about 15 per cent of them had been identified. "We already had a moment once when they transferred bodies to us and were also transferring bodies of Russian dead soldiers," Zelenskiy said at a briefing. The 1,212 bodies will now be transferred to experts of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, law enforcement agencies and the Health Ministry who will try to ascertain their identities as soon as possible, the prisoner exchange coordination body said. On Monday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged dozens of prisoners of war under the age of 25, as well as severely wounded and ill prisoners on Tuesday, in emotional homecoming scenes, the first step in a series of planned swaps that could become the biggest of the war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion. Russia and Ukraine will exchange more seriously wounded and ill prisoners of war on Thursday, Medinsky said. Fighting has raged on meanwhile with Russia saying on Monday its forces had taken control of more territory in Ukraine's east-central region of Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv saying Moscow had launched its largest drone attack of the war. [[nid:718962]]
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Austrian association urges FIA members to reject statute changes
Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - April 13, 2025 FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem with third placed McLaren's Lando Norris after the Bahrain Grand Prix REUTERS/Rula Rouhana/File Photo MONTREAL - The Austrian Automobile Association (OAMTC) has urged FIA members to reject proposed statute changes it fears will damage motorsport's world governing body and limit opposition to the re-election of president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. In an unsigned June 10 letter emailed to the mobility section of the FIA's world council, and seen by Reuters, the OAMTC set out its opposition to a vote on the agenda of the FIA General Assembly in Macau on Thursday. "We appeal to all members to support our motion to remove the voting on the proposed FIA statute changes from the General Assembly's agenda," the letter said, suggesting a postponement to a later meeting. "There is no urgency regarding these proposed changes ... they risk further contributing to the erosion of the FIA's reputation for competent and transparent governance. "It cannot be - and is not - a coincidence that changes relevant to the FIA's elections have been promoted by the FIA's leadership at the same time as the FIA's incumbent president has announced an intention to run in those elections. "Where there is even a risk of these changes appearing to benefit the current FIA administration, and not the FIA itself, the changes should not be adopted." An International Automobile Federation spokesperson in London was not immediately aware of the letter but confirmed the vote was scheduled for Thursday. Those attending the gathering in Macau could not be reached immediately for comment. The OAMTC said the eight proposed statute changes raised issues of fairness and consistency, and that they would discourage opposition to Ben Sulayem. Ben Sulayem is standing for re-election in December, with no rival candidate so far coming forward. He told Reuters last month when he confirmed he was standing that he welcomed competition. Ben Sulayem recognised he had enemies but said he was confident he had the support of a majority of FIA members. "I only have to answer to my members. And they are happy. Actually, they are very happy. They are extremely happy," he said. The Emirati has been involved in several controversies since he took over in 2021 and has been at loggerheads with drivers as well as drawing criticism from FIA insiders, while some senior employees have left. Briton Robert Reid, a former close ally who quit as an FIA deputy president in April, wrote in his resignation statement of a "fundamental breakdown in governance standards" at the governing body. Reid and Motorsport UK head David Richards had opposed other statute changes approved by the General Assembly last December that they said limited the powers of audit and ethics committees. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
