By Okeoghene Akubuike
The World Bank Group says it is committed to helping client countries affected by the Middle East conflict to navigate the crisis.
The bank made this known in a statement via its online media briefing centre on Thursday, a copy obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to the statement, a number of the World Bank Group’s clients in emerging markets have reached out to us as the conflict in the Middle East has started to impact commodity prices and logistics.
“We are working with governments, the private sector, regional partners, and other stakeholders to help them through this new set of challenges.
“We are closely monitoring global market developments, and we are in direct contact with the most affected client countries to understand what they are facing on the ground.”
The bank said shipping route disruptions were increasing costs, and supply risks were spreading from energy into fertilisers and other critical agricultural inputs. .
It added that crude oil prices increased by nearly 40 per cent between February and March and the price of liquefied natural gas shipments to Asia rose by almost two-thirds.
The bank noted the prices of nitrogen-based fertilisers had also increased by nearly 50 per cent in March, adding that it was moving quickly to help client countries navigate the crisis.
The bank said it was ready to respond at scale by combining immediate financial relief with policy expertise and private sector support for the recovery of jobs and growth.
“We will draw on the full range of instruments we have available to support governments, firms, and households.
“Our aim is to deliver immediate relief by leveraging our active portfolio, our crisis response toolkit, and pre-arranged financing facilities.”
The bank added that it would transition progressively to fast-disbursing instruments anchored in sound policies to underpin recovery.
According to the bank, through its private sector arms, it will provide firms with essential liquidity, trade finance, and working capital.
“Clearly, this is an evolving situation and we cannot predict the full range of impacts.
“As everyone has said, the longer this lasts, and the more damage there is to critical infrastructure, the more challenging this will be for our clients.
“We are determined to be helpful and do all we can to safeguard some of the hard-won economic progress that these countries are making.”(NAN)(www.nanews.ng)
Edited by Deji Abdulwahab
