Growing economies from Asia, Africa and Latin America urged rich countries Thursday to avoid protectionism and called for greater power for emerging markets in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Officials from the Group of 24, meeting on the sidelines of an annual World Bank and IMF gathering, also said there must be more lending to help developing countries struggling with poverty, climate change and the remnants of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. They did not recommend a specific amount of lending they want to see, but said there should be more than before the crisis. “If the problems are bigger, how can you have a smaller or the same size of a World Bank?” asked Rogerio Studart, a Brazilian on the World Bank board. The G-24, which includes growing powers Brazil and India, said in a communique that continuing changes are needed at the IMF and World Bank to give a greater voice to developing countries. China, which sits in on the group's meetings as an observer, and others have complained that the two lending organizations have been dominated by the United States and European countries. The communique said that the leaders and the senior management of the IMF and World Bank should be chosen in an open way without regard to nationality. They also pressed for a staff with broader diversity of nationality, gender, education and experience. Traditionally, Europe picks the IMF chief, while the United States chooses the head of the World Bank. “The world is changing very rapidly, and the role of countries is changing very rapidly,” Studart said, “and we still have a World Bank and a governance for the World Bank ... that belong to at least the last century.” The World Bank and the IMF were established in the last days of World War II to stabilize the international economy. The 186-nation IMF is the globe's economic rescue squad, providing emergency loans to countries facing financial troubles. The G-24 also urged cooperation among rich and developing countries to sustain economic recovery and called for quick changes in financial regulations. It warned that the problems caused by the global economic crisis will likely last for a long time. The developing countries also asked donors to follow through on delivering promised aid.
