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" We have three billion people, half the world's population today, living on less than two dollars a day. "

James Wolfensohn

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" You can't wish away poverty overnight. "

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" I think that so-called capitalism and trade is a very important element in giving people opportunity. "

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" Well the specific role of the World Bank is to be ready with financial assistance immediately after this emergency takes place because you need to reconnect water, you need to reconnect power, you need roads, you need bridges, and that has to be done urgently. "

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" When I travel, I make certain that I spend at least half of my time in the field. You have to get out to meet people that are in poverty, that are looking to improve their lives. That's something that you can't read in books. "

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" It's probably conventional wisdom now that you bring openness of markets only after the market has developed to a certain level. "

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" I believe and still believe that the Chinese government puts great weight on the experience of the Bank in terms of development. "

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" But when someone is on a winning horse, and everything looks wonderful, it's very hard as an outsider to persuade them something is wrong. "

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" Most people recognize that to create jobs is really the essential element in their drive against poverty. "

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" You can't compete globally unless you have appropriate communication skills. "

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" We have made a full frontal attack on corruption. The question is whether we can address the question of governance in developing countries and, particularly, corruption. "

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" You don't succeed on corruption in five minutes. I wish one could. "

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" My observation on most people in national governments is that they have very little interest in and very little knowledge of the multinational institutions. "

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" If you have Palestinians who have no hope, who don't have a job, who've used up all their resources, the notion of getting rid of violence is a dream. "

James Wolfensohn

" The poor people of the world tend to be the places that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups can recruit. "

James Wolfensohn

" So the first thing you need to do about conflict is to prevent it, and the best way of preventing it is by dealing with the question of poverty. "

James Wolfensohn

" Many people of my generation grew up in developed countries thinking that the world was divided into two parts and that there was a wall round the developed world. They thought that poor people had no relevance to us. What happened on September 11 was that anybody who thought there was a wall now knows that there is no wall. "

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" As you look at the flow of Muslim fundamentalism, or fundamentalism in various areas and various religions, they all play on the people who have very little. "

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" China never borrowed less than $3 billion a year during my tenure. They were the most significant client. They used the Bank not just for money but for the know-how. "

James Wolfensohn

" The Bank had never used the word 'corruption' at all until I got there, and the reason for that was, as the general counsel pointed out to me, that quite a number of our shareholders represented were not immune from corruption in their governments. "

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" I have travelled in the country enough to know that the concerns of villages in Rajasthan will be very different from the issues in the villages of Tamil Nadu. Anybody who makes a general remark about India probably doesn't know India. "

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" It is possible to have a public education system that works. "

James Wolfensohn

Public Education

" The only way really to influence countries, in terms of poverty, is to get them to change their policies and get them to understand what the issues are. "

James Wolfensohn

" Rebuilding Afghanistan is not going to be solved by pouring billions in. Getting rid of the Taliban does not rid us of the problems of fundamentalism and instability. "

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