I want to assure you that we at the World Bank Group have no intention of shrinking from this important responsibility. We stand ready to do our part in the challenges ahead. V. Conclusion 15. Let me close on this point, which I know is of direct interest to the Congress - the role of multilateralism in the new millennium. Clearly, globalization will be an important fact of life in the 21st century.
Global institutions provide a common framework and standards for looking across countries.
Global institutions are needed, especially in a world without geography. To this end, we in the World Bank are currently embarked on an internal renewal program to strengthen our own effectiveness within and across units and our partnerships with other agencies - all with a view to maximizing our development effectiveness. We believe that we will emerge from this exercise a stronger, more professional, and more human institution, better able to help the poor people of developing countries to improve their lives. We invite other agencies to join us in this process, so that collectively we will be in a better position to face the challenges ahead.