continental free trade agreement would be a step in the right direction. in view of economies ’ increased synchronization, the world bank may also want to consider multi - country interventions. the western balkans trade and transport facilitation project is a promising example of how to address issues that are common within a region. we are encouraged that countries are responding to the human capital project with concrete action, taking steps to build consensus and awareness, coordinate across sectors, improve measurement, and adopt reforms. it is also encouraging that some countries are trying to achieve better results with a more efficient allocation of existing levels of spending. we strongly support the effort to provide a finer disaggregation of the human capital index ( hci ), which may help in designing more informed policy solutions. a national aggregate hci value can mask significant disparities in outcomes within a country — across regions, socioeconomic groups, gender. it is equally critical to take steps to improve measurement, as a lack of reliable data risks jeopardizing the index ’ s credibility. the jobs and economic transformation agenda is of key importance in supporting governments to undertake policy reforms that will incentivize the private sector to invest and generate jobs. to this end we need to focus on reforms that can catalyze a shift from informal to formal employment and that can induce productivity - enhancing practices and processes, within and across sectors and firms. the emphasis on “ creating and connecting to markets ” and “ building capabilities and connecting workers to jobs ” is particularly relevant to heightening job creation in ida countries, where the largest labor force growth will take place in the coming years. as rightly stated in the background paper, different models are needed for different countries because of disparities in endowments, exposure to external factors, and varying development stages. the challenge will be how to make those models operational, building on country platforms that include all development partners. as the largest global concessional donor, ida has a unique role to play in tackling the root causes of poverty and deprivation and promoting inclusive, sustainable, and balanced development. the upcoming ida replenishment must be supported and we hope that a larger group of countries will consider participating, so that ida will have adequate resources to fulfil its mission. we favor the confirmation of ida - 18 special themes and the focus on new cross - cutting areas. to address the fundamental determinants of fragility, we support a stronger engagement of ida in regional programs, including

those for sahel, horn of africa, and lake chad. we are also confident that the wbg will incorporate a thorough analysis of causes and consequences of migratory pressures in its strategic country diagnostics for these areas. we support the review of ida ’ s voting rights and its guiding principles. the ida executive board must define the scope of the review clearly, to ensure an efficient process. this is a prerequisite for its success. implementing the commitments of the capital package and of ida replenishment will require a renewed effort, particularly because of the difficulties of doing business in those contexts. therefore, it is important to strengthen the wbg institutions ’ accountability mechanisms to maximize development impact. we are cognizant that scaling up these commitments requires adequate budgetary resources. nonetheless, to preserve the recently achieved financial sustainability of all the wbg institutions, operational efficiency must be enhanced. this includes a balanced business model of presence in the field. solid income generation is critical if the wbg is to bear future needs.