The transition toward sustainable urban transport is accelerating through a powerful synergy between Dutch technical expertise and global financial backing. Recent workshops in Bandung, Indonesia, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia—organized through the ACTIVE program, a Dutch government initiative—demonstrate how targeted knowledge exchange can strengthen major international investments, including those of the World Bank Group (WBG).
The Transforming Transportation 2026 (TT26) conference, held in Washington, D.C., recently concluded with a powerful message: transport is no longer just about infrastructure—it is the engine for global economic security and job creation. Under the theme “Powering Jobs and Growth,” the 23rd edition of this flagship event, co-hosted by the World Bank and the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, gathered world leaders to address how smarter mobility can bridge the gap between poverty and opportunity.
Continue readingCommodity prices forecast to rise by 16% this year, fueling inflation and slowing growth
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2026—Energy prices are projected to surge by 24% this year to their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the war in the Middle East sends a severe shock through global commodity markets, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook. Overall commodity prices are forecast to rise 16% in 2026, driven by soaring energy and fertilizer prices and record-high prices for several key metals.
Continue readingAt the FOMACO 2026 Forum in Nouakchott, Mauritania, collaboration was at the heart of advancing coastal resilience in West Africa. From the perspective of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO-TIO/CWF), it was inspiring to see how strong partnerships are helping to move Nature-based Solutions (NbS) from concept to implementation.
Together with the World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA), IUCN, and key Dutch partners including EcoShape and NL2120, we co-organized a series of sessions, a plenary session, a deep dive and a two-day pre-forum workshop, and activities during the forum focused on scaling impact.
Continue readingTwo new IDA grants will improve water and health service delivery to 4.5 million Syrians across the country
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2026 – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today US$225 million in grant financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to support Syria to enhance the delivery of public services in its water and health sectors. The approved financing package spans two new projects aimed at improving people’s lives by securing reliable access to water and sanitation and improving access to quality health services. Both projects are expected to benefit about 4.5 million Syrians across the country.
Continue readingWashington, D.C, April 20, 2026 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved the new Belize Early Childhood Development and Female Empowerment Project, which will generate opportunities for women and future generations by boosting women’s employment and expanding the access of quality, inclusive early childhood education.
Continue reading“Credit: World Bank Group. All rights reserved”
This statement was produced by the following MDBs who were part of the G7 Outreach session in Washington, DC on 17 April 2026: African Development Bank Group, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank Group.
Continue readingIn the last 20 years, poverty in Paraguay has plummeted from over 50 percent to only 16 percent in 2025. In just two decades, a third of the population has escaped poverty, with another 300,000 rising out of poverty just in the last two years.
Progress at this pace, scale, and duration does not happen by accident. Paraguay’s success is what happens when governments focus on productivity and jobs. Paraguay’s GDP growth has been nearly 5 percent per annum, among the fastest in Latin America. But for progress in poverty and shared prosperity, what drives growth matters. Labor income growth was the primary driver of poverty reduction in 2025, with the largest gains concentrated at the bottom of the income scale. Employment has grown and shifted toward more stable, better-compensated work. Sustained growth in employment and labor incomes is only possible with growth in the productivity of labor. Economic growth improves people’s lives when there is a focus on including people in an increasingly productive economy through job creation.
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Recent military conflict in the Middle East have once again reminded the world how vulnerable modern economies remain to sudden disruptions in global oil supply. For many developing economies, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, the consequences of such disruptions are immediate and acute. Higher oil prices translate quickly into higher transportation costs, rising food prices, fiscal pressure from fuel subsidies, and deteriorating household welfare.
Netherlands for the World Bank 