U.S. President Joe Biden has promised to allocate $4 billion to the World Bank's unit that provides low-interest loans and grants to the poorest countries. Bloomberg reports UNN.
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Biden announced the three-year commitment at a meeting with other Group of 20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to a senior US presidential administration official.
Trump and his advisors typically favor more unilateral approaches to such lending, such as the creation of the International Development Finance Corporation during his first administration. However, during his first term, the United States agreed to provide about $3 billion to replenish the IDA fund in 2019.
“Project 2025, a detailed governance plan developed by some of Trump's closest former White House advisers, recommended that the United States withdraw from membership and funding of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, although Trump and his campaign disavowed the document before the election.
In an interview last month, World Bank President Ajay Banga said the institution is making progress on raising funds that could be used to provide more than $100 billion to about 75 of the poorest countries, up from a record $93 billion raised during the last donor drive that ended in 2021.
The final data on this fee will be announced in December.
The funds will go to the International Development Association, whose resources must be replenished every few years. The American contribution will require an appropriation from Congress, which is unlikely to happen before Trump takes office in January, Bloomberg writes.