World Bank President Robert Zoellick began a weeklong tour of Africa Sunday with a visit to Mauritania, where international donors want to encourage equitable growth in one of the continent's newest oil producers.
The desert nation of 3 million on the edge of the Sahara desert in northwest Africa held elections last year that cemented a transition to democratic rule after a military junta overthrew a widely unpopular dictator. Oil was discovered here in 2006, boosting growth from around 5 percent to 11 percent, the World Bank said.
Zoellick's trip is aimed at "providing a more tailored level of support to the country's development priorities," the bank said in a statement, adding that donors were exploring "solutions for more inclusive and equitable growth that provides adequate access to basic services and opportunities for the poor."
Residents of some oil-rich nations in Africa _ Nigeria is a prime example _ have remained deeply poor despite their oil wealth, often because of corruption and mismanagement.
Zoellick will travel Tuesday to Liberia, and then Ethiopia for the upcoming African Union summit before ending his trip Feb. 4 in Mozambique.
In Mauritania, Zoellick will meet President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi as well as the prime minister and members of Parliament.
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