World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Remarks at the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors.

Thank you very much, Secretary Miller, Chairman Jamal, Mr. de Larosiere, Mr. McNamara, Governors of the Fund and the Bank, distinguished delegates and guests:

It's a special pleasure for me as President of our country to welcome you again for this meeting, which is so important to the entire world. This is the 35th annual meeting of its two great institutions. And it's also a special pleasure for me to welcome the new members.

Your presence here symbolizes a commitment of more than 140 countries to a dynamic system of international economic cooperation and to its central institutions, as you well know, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Your commitment strengthens the prospects for a lasting peace, because peace cannot be assured if hundreds of millions of people are offered no hope of escape from hunger or poverty or economic instability or deprivation. The Bank and the Fund provide that hope.

Both institutions are rapidly adapting to new circumstances and new changes and also new challenges. We support this process of adapting to change. The response of a changing world can best be charted within these institutions, acting in your own fields of competence and experience. Your work should not be diverted by extraneous political disputes. And as you mold and adapt, you must be assured that your decisions will not be determined or renegotiated in some other meeting. Your record of success justifies this vote of confidence. Any political pressure or unwarranted influence from any international forum which might undermine your integrity would be neither necessary nor desirable.

The Fund is the world's principal official source of balance-of-payments financing. So far this year, Fund programs of more than $5 1/2 billion have been arranged; even more is needed. An action is underway to expand these resources. The IMF is also adopting important changes in policy, making it more responsive to changing needs and the concerns of its members.

During the last 12 months, the World Bank Group has lent more than $12 billion to developing member countries. Nearly $4 billion of that was provided on concessional terms to the poorest nations.

The Bank is mounting initiatives to enable developing countries to find and produce more energy, while also carrying out other important bank functions. An enlarged World Bank program for energy exploration and development would benefit all of us. The World Bank has also launched a program of lending and advisory services to help developing nations and to help them make the structural adjustments required by higher energy prices.

It's not possible for me to discuss the role of the World Bank without paying personal and professional tribute to the leadership and the dedication of Robert McNamara over the last 12 years. Under Bob McNamara's outstanding leadership, the Bank has become the focus of world cooperation to improve the human condition and a fine example of how such cooperation can be effective. Bob, you will leave to your successor a high standard and a firm foundation for the future, based on an open heart, sensitivity about people's human needs, and the sound economic judgment that has maintained the integrity of the World Bank.

U.S. support of the Fund and the Bank reflects both our fundamental humanitarian principles and also our own economic interests. Legislation enabling our participation in the IMF quota increase passed the House of Representatives last week. I'm now pressing for a passage of this legislation in the Senate, and I will sign it as soon as it reaches my desk. Moreover, I will urge the Congress of our country to give high priority to the sixth IDA replenishment later this year. Next year we will submit legislation for our subscription to the general capital increase of the World Bank. Both the Fund and the World Bank Group must have all the resources they need for their crucial work.

Let me also mention several other steps the United States has taken that will help to stabilize the world economy. We've adopted a strong anti-inflation program of fiscal and monetary restraint. We've begun a nationwide program to revitalize our own industrial base and to accelerate productivity growth. This new program would increase the portion of our own gross national product devoted to investment in new industry and in new jobs and in new production. The program will reduce inflation. It will restore innovation and vigor to our economy. And we've also put into place a comprehensive program to rebuild my country's energy base.

This new program is already paying rich dividends; it's already bearing fruit. In the last 3 years, for instance, we've reduced oil imports by 24 percent. This year we are drilling more oil and gas wells than any other year in history. And this year we are producing more coal in my country than in any previous year in history. We are acting to ensure that the United States can meet much of the world's need for coal. We've started a massive investment program to increase production of synthetic fuels. We're spending $4 billion per year on energy research and development and additional billions of dollars on incentives to use energy more efficient in our homes, in our industries, our commerce, and our transportation.

Because of sustained oil production and because of worldwide conservation measures, the world's oil stocks are now at an alltime high, and these reserves will help to offset the effect of temporary reductions in supply, such as that which has been caused by the present conflict between Iran and Iraq. However, we are keenly aware that some nations are seriously threatened by even a temporary interruption in normal oil supplies. Thus we are working with your countries in the United Nations and through other public, international fora to end this conflict as quickly as possible.

Our energy program is part of a farreaching effort to which we pledged ourselves at the recent Venice economic summit conference. Our common goal there, as expressed by the seven nations involved, is to conserve more oil and to produce the equivalent in alternative fuels of 15 to 20 million barrels of oil per day by the end of this decade. This will ease pressure on world oil markets. It will alleviate balance-of-payments problems and will let developing countries obtain a larger share of the world oil supply now and in the future.

The common purpose of all countries, in both our domestic and international energy actions, should be to strengthen the world economy and to assure fair treatment for all nations. Our common goal should be to minimize the threat of abrupt changes in the price of oil, to assure a reasonable, predictable level of supply of energy, to avoid compounding inflationary pressure that rob us all. The oil-importing countries and the oil-exporting countries as well can all contribute to this effort. We all have a stake in its outcome.

This meeting comes at a crucial time for us all. The world has come to place enormous confidence in your judgment, in the judgment and the services of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. That confidence, down through the years, has never been misplaced, and I'm certain that it will be even more justified by your actions and your services in the future.

On behalf of the United States of America, I assure you that we intend to remain active in the decisions made within these two institutions and supportive of the work which lies ahead of us all. Congratulations on what you've accomplished. My full support and best wishes now and in the future.

Thank you very much.