February 7, 2008
HP-814

Prepared Statement by Ana M. Guevara,
Nominee for United States Alternate
Executive Director of the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development, Before
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

Mr. Chairman and Members of the committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am honored to have been nominated to serve as U.S. Alternate Executive Director at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. President Bush said in his State of the Union Address that America is leading the fight against global poverty, hunger and disease; and that "America is a force for hope in the world because we are a compassionate people". I share this belief. And as compassionate people with a unique leadership role in the World Bank, the United States must engender strong partnerships to ensure programs meant to eradicate poverty and create inclusive economic growth are not squandered by corruption and mismanagement.

If confirmed, I will have the great privilege and responsibility to represent the United States at the World Bank. I look forward to the opportunity to work with Treasury Secretary Paulson and others in our government – as well as with our partners at the World Bank – to improve its effectiveness and impact. Catalyzing prosperity in the developing world and post-conflict countries is not just a moral imperative. It helps create local stability and peace. And it creates new markets for American entrepreneurs. Our prosperity and security is tied to those whom we endeavor to help.

For the past two decades, whether as a businesswoman or government official, I have gained extensive experience forging strong partnerships and formal agreements with governments and international institutions in Asia and Latin America. If confirmed, I will apply these skills to build coalitions that will foster broad support for U.S. priorities with member countries of the World Bank. My professional life has focused on increasing trade and developing economic competitiveness, whether by opening new markets or providing capacity building for modern supply chains, customs procedures and cultural and heritage tourism or by protecting U.S. companies from unfair and corrupt practices oversees, or even by promoting venture capital and entrepreneurism. I have also served as ex-officio board member of the Export Import Bank, worked with the board of the Oversees Private Investment Corporation and overseen the Department of Commerce's participation in the Interagency Working Group on Multilateral Aid.

The most gratifying experience of my professional life, however, has been the community education projects in Mexico, China, Poland, Ukraine, and rural America that I was fortunate to be involved with while in the private sector. In Mexico I developed a 10-year educational development program where I learned first hand about the many challenges in implementing a results oriented project. It allowed me to see how given the right tools, proper food and nutrition, warm clothes – and a little hope and encouragement – that even the poorest child facing the greatest odds can flourish, exceeding his or her own expectations and transforming a community's quality of life and more importantly, quality of spirit. In working with the community projects , I also learned how corruption can hurt these programs and the people they are meant to help when I was forced to turn away one of the communities under consideration because I was not convinced local officials would enforce proper fiduciary controls for project funds.

Mr. Chairman, if confirmed I will use the combination of my experience with the private sector, public sector and community service to build support for U.S. priorities such as anti-corruption, governance and accountability, transparency, debt sustainability, environmental safeguards, and to improve results. I will seek to help developing countries capitalize on the benefits of globalization and trade, and to promote inclusive and sustainable prosperity through private sector development in these countries.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased to answer the committee's questions.