Belgrade, October 11, 2007 - The transition to a market economy, which is happening in most of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA)1 sub-region, presents both a challenge and an opportunity to put in place policies and incentives that would minimize the environmental impact of increased development while ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the environment.

BISHKEK, August 29, 2007 – Today, a Financing Agreement for a US $16 million IDA grant was signed between the World Bank and the Kyrgyz Republic for the Second On-Farm Irrigation Project (OIP-2).  Minister of Finance Akylbek Japarov signed the Agreement on behalf of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Country Manager Roger J. Robinson signed it on behalf of the World Bank.

BISHKEK, September 27, 2007 – Today, recent World Bank’s reports “Migration and Remittances: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union” and "Remittances in the CIS Countries: a Study of Selected Corridors"  were presented in the “Golden Dragon” Hotel.

To enrich the discussions were invited representatives of the academia and research institutes, international and national NGOs, private sector, government and city authorities, multilateral and bilateral organizations, and media agencies.

Washington, October 10, 2007--World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said, “It is the vision of the World Bank Group to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable globalization – to overcome poverty, enhance growth with care for the environment, and create individual opportunity and hope.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, marking his first 100 days as President of the World Bank Group, Zoellick explained that, “Globalization offers incredible opportunities.  Yet exclusion, grinding poverty, and environmental damage create dangers.  The ones that suffer most are those who have the least to start with – indigenous peoples, women in developing countries, the rural poor, Africans, and their children.”