Top leaders of the United Nations and World Bank are to visit Africa's Great Lakes region this week to push for economic development in one of the world's most troubled regions, dpa quoted the World Bank as saying Monday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim's visit Wednesday to Friday would also provide support for the implementation of a February 11 peace agreement that aims to settle the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ban and Kim are to be in Congo Wednesday and Thursday, Rwanda on Thursday and Uganda on Friday. "The visit will draw attention to the plight of fragile and conflict-affected countries struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals and will highlight the commitment of the two international organizations to jointly tackle global conflict and poverty," the announcement said. The goals are a set of objectives to be achieved by 2015, including reducing poverty and reversing the spread of HIV. In Kinshasa, the two officials are to meet President Joseph Kabila, Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, ministers and other officials. The announcement said talks would focus on how the UN and the World Bank could best support the landmark peace agreement signed by 11 Great Lakes countries.
