World Bank Group President, Robert B. Zoellick, will visit Bulgaria, Moldova, and Latvia on August 9 – 13, a WB press release informs Friday.

Zoellick’s goals include meeting with government leaders, business people, think tanks, civil society, and visiting projects to discuss development issues and the impact of the global economic crisis.

“Europe and Central Asia was one of the regions hit hardest by the financial crisis and the region is still recovering. Rising joblessness is pushing households into poverty and making things even harder for those already poor,” said the World Bank Group President is quoted saying.“The World Bank has provided record support to help the countries of Europe and Central Asia respond to the crisis. I look forward to discussing with the governments of Bulgaria, Moldova, and Latvia how the Bank can continue to help drive economic recovery.”

Europe and Central Asia is a diverse region of emerging economies, and therefore faces differing prospects for recovery. About half of the region’s 30 countries experienced a decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009, with GDP growth ranging from a negative 18% in Latvia to a positive 9.3% in Azerbaijan. Growth in the region, which had peaked at about 7% in 2007, fell to a negative 6% in 2009 and is projected this year at around 4%, the World Bank points out.

The World Bank Group responded quickly in fiscal year 2010 (FY10) to requests from countries in Europe and Central Asia for help in addressing the global economic crisis, providing record support of USD 14.8 B to the region, the press release reads.

On August 9 – 11, President Zoellick will, together with Bulgaria’s EC Commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva, former Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the World Bank Group, visit Bulgaria. Georgieva and Zoellick will meet with President, Georgi Parvanov, Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Simeon Djankov, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Mladenov. In the company of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Rosen Plevneliev, the two will visit a road section which is being rehabilitated with co-financing provided by the World Bank’s Road Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project.

“As a new EU member state, Bulgaria has a unique opportunity to make the most of the existing European support to speed up the convergence of living standards. In order to increase the country’s competitiveness, investing in infrastructure – including transport infrastructure – is critical. I look forward to discussing how the World Bank can, in close partnership with the European Commission and European institutions, help Bulgaria best use available resources,” Zoellick is further quoted saying.