Development dialogue.

THE THIRD of a series of 'high level encounters' between the World Council of Churches (WCC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank took place in Geneva last October. It was moderated by Cornelio Sommaruga, President of Initiatives of Change International.

'Our object is not to draw up battle lines between financial pragmatism and some pious form of other-worldly idealism, but to search for viable pathways towards global justice,' said Samuel Kobia, the General Secretary of the WCC, welcoming James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, Agustin Carstens, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, and WCC President Agnes Abuom.

Agnes Abuom quoted a Russian philosopher, 'My own bread is a material question for me, the bread of the other is a spiritual question.' The world's economic gulf cannot be bridged by economists' tools, she said. We need the tools of ethics and the teaching of 'love one's neighbour'.

In his concluding remarks Sommaruga reminded the audience not to forget the 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty and under the threat of HIV/Aids. He stressed the important role of women, youth and minorities, as well as community development programmes, and good governance including the fight against corruption.