wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Commonalities & differencies btwn WCC & Bretton Woods

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 
For immediate release - 22/10/2004

FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL POVERTY CENTRAL 
TO WCC AND BRETTON WOODS INSTITUTIONS' AGENDAS, 
BUT DIFFERENCES OF VIEW ALSO IDENTIFIED

			    Free high resolution photo available, see below

"Significant and useful" were the adjectives used today in a joint
statement to describe the series of encounters held since February 2003
between the World Council of Churches (WCC), the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

Issued at the end of a meeting of the heads of the three organizations, the
statement affirms that the encounters allowed them to improve "their mutual
understanding of their positions on development and related issues", while
identifying "areas of common ground but also differences of view".

"Central to the common ground is the fight against global poverty -
particularly the extreme poverty that remains all too prevalent in much of
the world," the document states, as well as affirming agreement on "the
importance of the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)".

Among the differences of view the statement mentions "development issues
such as approaches to development, financial markets, and the impact of
globalization, along with economic policy issues such as those relating to
macroeconomic stabilization, government budgets, and international trade".

Both commonalities and differences are dealt with in a greater detail in a
longer document also released at the meeting (see below).

The statement also points out the commitment of the three organizations "to
a continuing dialogue to further increase their understanding of their
respective experience and learning, as well as to build stronger alliances
where appropriate".

Present at the meeting were: World Bank (WB) president James D. Wolfensohn,
International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Agustmn
Carstens, WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia and WCC president from Africa,
Agnes Abuom.

The full text of the statement is available at:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/wcc-wb-imf-jointstatement.html 

The document "Common Ground and Differences of View*" is available at:
http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/wcc-wb-imf-commonground.html 

High-resolution photos of the encounter are available on our website at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/wcc-wb-imf2004.html 

See also our press release of 21 October, 2004 at
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/pr-04-49.html 

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153  +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org 

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more
than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.