ALBAWABA - As the Iran-US war drags on and prices go up, 27 countries ask for crisis funds from the World Bank according to an internal document viewed by Reuters.
The World Bank has not released the names of the countries nor the amount of potential funds requested by the aforementioned countries, moreover, the document has shown that three countries had approved crisis instruments since the war began with the rest of the countries still in the process.
The World Bank has declined to comment on the situation. The war, centered around one of the most important shipping bottlenecks in the world, the Strait of Hormuz, has disrupted global energy markets, hitting supply chains of vital commodities such as fuel, oil, and fertilizer, preventing them from reaching developing countries.
Countries such as Kenya and Iraq have confirmed that they are seeking rapid financial boosts from the World Bank to deal with the fallout of disrupted global trade, especially for Iraq as its fuel exports tanked after the war.
The 27 countries are a part of 101 countries which have had access to pre-arranged financing that they could use in a crisis. World Bank president Ajay Banga stated last month that the countries could be allowed to draw an estimated $20 billion to $25 billion, adding also that the bank could reorient its portfolio to bring the total amount closer to $60 billion, with further long-term changes bringing to about $100 billion.
In spite of this, the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, said she expected up to a dozen countries to seek anywhere from $20 billion to $50 billion from the IMF but few requests had been logged with them, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The director of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, Kevin Gallagher, said countries are more willing to seek World Bank funds rather than IMF funds as the latter requires certain austerity measures which could compound social problems in unstable countries such as Kenya.
"Countries are definitely in wait-and-see mode," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
