Development bank will help fight poverty

The BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are expected to pursue a development bank during a summit in Brazil next week. This is in addition to the idea of an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that is being mooted by countries in the region.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who visited China this week, welcomed the initiatives for the two new multilateral lending institutions. He said on Tuesday they would not be a threat to his institution but instead help it fight poverty and spur economic growth.

Kim has emphasized repeatedly since taking office two years ago that fighting poverty is a top priority for the World Bank, but additional capacity will make the global cause all the more effective. Emerging countries, such as China, which has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the past decades but still faces huge challenge in this area, know just how much remains to be done in this area.