By Prensa Latina,
Yamoussoukro : President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo proposed on Wednesday to create a Bank of the South in the continent, similar to that in Latin America, to fight world poverty.
According to Gbagbo, the body must be funded from a special tax on raw material exports by developing nations, to be created by his country.
During the summit of the G-77, the president and host said his plan would help finance the international expansion of a bank baring the same name as that launched last year by his Venezuelan peer Hugo Chavez.
In remarks quoted today by Radio France Internationale, he said that it was necessary to tax other raw materials like oil and cocoa (Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer), besides those taxed so far, and create a body with wide ranging targets.
He referred to the need to spread the idea through the South, with a bank in Latin America, another in Africa and one more in South East Asia.
In December 2007, seven Latin American countries created a financial entity named Bank of the South, as an alternative to traditional multilateral bodies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Based in Venezuela, the Bank is expected to start operating later this year, with a capital injection of $7 billion to fund economic and social development projects.