World Bank and NDF to Expand Cooperation in Protecting Development Resources

WASHINGTON, September 19, 2012— The World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). Both organizations will collaborate to invest in institutional capacity to manage fraud and corruption risks impacting project outcomes, with a focus on developing countries that request such assistance. “This partnership is timely and critical. Addressing corruption is a major factor in defining sustainable development progress,” said Leonard McCarthy, World Bank Integrity Vice President. “Bringing our integrity perspectives closer to development assistance on the ground, sharing our experiences, and investing in more resources makes good development sense.” Both organizations will develop mechanisms to expand collaboration while engaging periodically to monitor trends and assess emerging risks.

The cooperation between the two organizations will be further facilitated by NDF's new Policy on Anticorruption and Integrity entering into force on October 1, 2012, by which NDF is incorporating the general principles agreed upon in the Joint Statement signed by IFIs in 2006 as well as committing to enforce cross-debarments triggered under the Cross-Debarment Agreement of 2010 signed by the World Bank and other multilateral development banks.

"NDF is committed to prevent and combat fraud and corruption in its operations. This will strengthen the climate change and development impact of projects financed by NDF and its partners," said Helge Semb, Managing Director of NDF. "We look forward to expanding our cooperation with the World Bank on how to manage these risks" he added.

For both organizations, the next step will be to share experiences on the ground to further develop their preventive and investigative capabilities. The MoU signing took place at the World Bank Headquarters.