A Conversation with Robert Zoellick

As his World Bank presidency comes to an end, Robert Zoellick discussed his legacy and the future of the institution with InterAction president and CEO Sam Worthington.

The conversation began with Worthington asking Zoellick to reflect back on his five years at the World Bank. Zoellick focused on the internal turn around he faced at the beginning of his tenure, the importance of the World Bank response to the food, fuel and financial crisis that began in late 2007, and his efforts at modernizing the World Bank as an institution.

The idea of modernizing the World Bank was based on Zoellick’s opinion that institutions still play a critical role in the connection of states. This modernization was not just financial, Zoellick worked to open up the World Bank to a variety of voices. This was a move towards what he compared to a  “democratization of government” in hopes to create a connection between the World Bank and civil society.

This civil society connection included Zoellick’s work in using the World Bank to combat poverty. Zoellick emphasized how he was able to use the bank to highlight the “bottom billion” or the most underserved people in the world. He was quick to ensure that while civil society and the World Bank still have a long way to go in combatting global poverty, enormous strides have been taken on a macro level.

At the end of the session, Zoellick spoke about giving advice to Dr. Jim Yong Kim. He stressed that the new World Bank president should continue with a client focus approach. He believes that individual clients of the World Bank will need individual answers, and that every country has in its own unique situation, blanket solutions cannot be the answer. Finally, he emphasized that the World Bank needs to work as a partner in the vast network of institutions, governments and civil society.

Contributed by Kellie Peake