Dear Madam/Sir:

On behalf of the World Bank, we have the pleasure of inviting you to participate in the Third Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) in Europe on June 25 and 26, 2001. For the first time, the ABCDE Conference will be held on-line, in a live video, Interactive format for two hours each day (2:30-4:30 pm Paris time).

The President of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn will deliver a keynote address. Other speakers will include Professor Jeffrey Williamson of Harvard University and Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram from the University of Malaya, as well as representatives from civil society and government. The subject of discussion on June 25 will be "globalization, wealth and poverty." The theme on June 26 will be "regulation in a globalized world."

You will be able to send questions and comments through the internet by email. The speakers will reply in real time to as many queries as possible within the online time frame.

I hope you will join us for this exciting event, which is a new twist on the ABCDE concept. Visit the ABCDE Online website now to view the program and to register for the conference.

Click here: www.worldbank.org/abcde-europe

For any further information, please write to: Eurevent@worldbank.org

Sincerely,

Jean-François Rischard

Vice President for Europe

The World Bank

Nicholas Stern

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist

The World Bank