Ethiopia said Thursday World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has assured that the bank would further strengthen its assistance to the Horn of Africa country.

Mekonnen Manyazewal, state minister of finance and economic development, told journalists that WB President Wolfowitz had told Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that the bank would further enhance its assistance to the efforts underway to reduce poverty and bring about sustainable development during a meeting they held in New York City recently.

The bank's new president had also told Meles that he is desirous to visit Ethiopia, according to Mekonnen.

Meles briefed the president on his part on the over-all activities being made to extricate the country from poverty, he said.

The Ethiopian prime minister also said efforts have been launched with the aim of bringing about sustainable economic growth, according to the Ethiopian official.

Meles also welcomed the visit of the World Bank to Ethiopia, he said.

Ethiopia is participating in the on-going annual conference of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington.

The liberalizing direction taken by the Ethiopia government over the past 12 years, beginning with the economic reform program launched in 1992, has resulted in improvements in the areas of trade policy, foreign investment and government intervention.

Source: Xinhua