of sdr. viii the activities of the imf and the world bank complement each other. they are not competing organizations. close cooperation between the imf and the world bank is particularly important when responding to crisis situations in order to avoid conflicting signals. we therefore welcome the ongoing efforts to improve cooperation between the two institutions. i would like to take this opportunity to thank management and staff of the imf and the world bank for their sometimes extremely difficult work during the past months. you may rest assured that germany will continue to attach great importance to the work of the imf and the world bank. finally, i am pleased to join my fellow governors in welcoming the republic of palau as a new member.

international law. a stable and strong euro is a major contribution by europe to the stability of the global monetary system and to ongoing economic prosperity. vi the involvement of the world bank in overcoming the financial crises in southeast asia and in russia is of great importance. the world bank has unique expertise in addressing the underlying structural problems. at the same time, its main task, to fight poverty, should not be neglected. we should not forget that many countries, including the poorest ones, have been implementing structural measures with great effort and commitment for a number of years. ida is the largest concessionary aid fund in the world. countries trust its advice and welcome its financial support which lays the foundation for sustained growth and fighting poverty. it will be very difficult to fully integrate these countries into the world economy without efficient institutions in the financial sector, without a coherent development - oriented government strategy and without a reliable legal framework. this has been demonstrated again by recent crises. ida ’ s development policy mandate and its success in implementing reform programs encourage us to successfully conclude the current negotiations for the 12th replenishment by the end of the year. also against the backdrop of the current negotiations, we note with great concern that armed conflicts jeopardize the first fruits of structural reforms and arduous reconstruction measures. in the wake of the financial crises, structural shortcomings have also surfaced in the world bank ’ s income development. the negative trend in the world bank ’ s profitability must be tackled quickly so that it can regain its former scope for action. the recently adopted measures for improving the profitability of the bank are a major step in the right direction. vii for the imf to play its key role in the international monetary system, the increase in quotas agreed in hong kong must be speedily implemented. this must have absolute priority. germany has already notified the imf of its consent to the quota increase. we hope that others will follow without further delay so that the imf will again have sufficient quota resources as soon as possible. the imf ’ s key role in overcoming the crises should encourage all members to fulfill their obligations speedily. the new arrangements to borrow ( nab ) should also come into force as soon as possible. this “ reserve tank ”, however, can only be a supplement to raising the quotas, and by no means a substitute. germany is prepared to notify its consent to the nab. similarly, we are prepared to ratify the special one - time allocation