The Government of Malaysia and the World Bank Group signed an Office Support Agreement today, the final legal instrument necessary to establish the knowledge and research office in Kuala Lumpur and commence operations from Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia.
Second Deputy Minister of Finance, H.E. Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, signed on behalf of Malaysia, and World Bank Group Country Director for Southeast Asia, Ulrich Zachau signed on behalf of the World Bank.
The new World Bank Group Office will serve as an operational hub to facilitate the sharing of Malaysia’s rich development experiences with developing countries around the world, and to provide Malaysia with access to international knowledge and expertise as it transitions into an advanced, high-income economy. The Office will also carry out innovative development policy research and analytical work on a wide range of regional and global issues, including assessments of the business and investment climate across countries.
H.E. Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, said “Malaysia is globally recognized for its progress and achievements in economic planning and development, poverty reduction, provision of modern financial services, as well as public sector performance. At this juncture of our development journey we look forward to working closely with the World Bank Group to use this experience to benefit other countries.”
Malaysia is one of the countries identified by the World Bank to have recorded average growth of more than 7 percent per year for 25 years or more. Economic growth was inclusive, as Malaysia also succeeded in nearly eradicating poverty: the share of households living below the national poverty line fell from over 50 percent in the 1960s to less than 1.0 percent currently. Building on decades of rapid development, and in an increasingly challenging global economic environment, Malaysia aims to maintain its path to high income country status by 2020.
“Malaysia is a remarkable success story that many developing countries look to for inspiration,” said World Bank Country Director Ulrich Zachau. “The new World Bank Group office will allow Malaysia and the World Bank Group to work closely as partners to share Malaysia’s extensive expertise and experience in building prosperity and reducing poverty with countries around the world."
