The World Bank Group has approved a new six-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Poland, which prioritises health care reform, improving air quality and boosting regional convergence.
While Poland has over the last decade achieved high-income status with broad-based economic growth exceeding 3.5 per cent which has had a positive impact on shared prosperity., a number of vulnerabilities remain. For example, every third person will be over 65 by 2030, some regions in Poland are among the 20 poorest in the European Union, and the country is home to 33 of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe.
“With this new strategy, Poland will retain access to World Bank advisory services and financing,” said Carlos Piñerúa, World Bank Country Manager for Poland and the Baltic States. “In the course of strategy implementation, World Bank expertise will be shared with Poland as we continue to support the country’s full convergence with more advanced economies in Western Europe.”
The CPF focuses on human capital investments and entrepreneurship, policy-making for growth and inclusion and addressing environmental and global threats. The specific objectives include: Developing an efficient health care system for a rapidly aging society; Promoting entrepreneurship and modernising higher education; Facilitating regional convergence; Advancing evidence-based design of policy and institutions; Improving energy efficiency and air quality in selected urban centers; Building resilience to climate-related events.
The CPF also includes greater engagement of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group that focuses on private sector development.
“Poland is a sophisticated client, which needs sophisticated interventions, but also can serve as an IFC platform for innovation in the Europe and Central Asia region,” said Thomas Lubeck, IFC regional manager for Central and Southeast Europe. “Here we can develop financial instruments and private sector solutions which can be later replicated in other countries in the region and globally.”
IFC will focus on strengthening local capital market, and promoting expansion of Polish companies to other emerging markets. By supporting climate-friendly energy- and resource- efficient modernisations in corporate and municipal sectors, IFC will mobilise private funds to ensure long-term economic growth in Poland.
The new CPF for Poland will be implemented through 2024. The Bank will monitor its implementation and review the impact on reform outcomes in all strategic areas.
“The partnership with the World Bank Group is important for Poland because we can continue to benefit from the expertise and analytical findings of international experts,” said Paweł Samecki, a member of the management board of Narodowy Bank Polski. “Additionally, the successful experience of Poland’s economic transition could be a valuable lesson for other countries where the World Bank Group works.”
