Discussion on developing nations at the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is going on now in Davos, Switzerland. Once a year really rich people and some heads of state gather to talk about global economics and to do some skiing. We have been waiting until we found a story about developing nations until we covered it here.

Developing nations are accumulating 1 trillion dollars of debt. Many nations are seeing investment dry up due to the world credit crisis. While some nations are wondering why they even bother being integrated in the world market, if it means that they will just follow the US into recession, each time.

Today's International Herald Tribune devoted a story to the developing countries concerns at the forum.

Some 48 mining projects in the Republic of Congo are "in various stages of abandonment," South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel cited as an example.

Turkish businessman Ferit F. Sahenk cited studies showing that private investment flows into emerging markets will drop significantly this year.

"It is not only unemployment. It is not only poverty. If this crisis goes longer, it will lead around the world to a social crisis that we should be keeping in mind," he said.
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World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the discussions at Davos were too focused on rich countries.

"This crisis is not just about finance," she said. "It is about people and in many of these developing countries there are millions and millions of people who are at the bottom end of the scale."

She urged participants at Davos to explore the World Bank president's suggestion that 0.7 percent of the stimulus packages being discussed by industrialized nations be used to help developing nations.