The World Bank and Singapore signed an agreement on Thursday to set up an urban hub in the country to provide urban solutions for developing countries.

Visiting World Bank President Robert Zoellick and Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo signed the agreement, under which the two sides said they would collaborate to meet growing demand from developing countries for technical advice, especially on urban management.

The World Bank's Singapore hub would provide and facilitate advice and technical assistance based on global best practices on urban challenges, said a statement released by Singapore's Foreign Ministry.

Through joint research, training, capacity-building initiatives and project development, Singapore and the World Bank intend to play a positive and growing role in helping countries tackle critical policy challenges especially in the area of urban management, it said.

Zoellick said, "With hundreds of million people moving from rural areas to cities every year, governments need to find sensible solutions to managing the demand for land, water and jobs while also ensuring their cities remain livable and socially cohesive."

He added, the hub would initially provide advise and technical services to South-East Asian countries but would expand to other Asian countries, including China, and would eventually go global, especially to Africa.

On the global financial crisis and economic downturn, Zoellick said that economic growth in the first half of 2009 will be a problem globally.

"I am afraid that the first six months of 2009 are going to be a problem worldwide, including in Asia and including in Southeast Asia," he told a news conference during his one-day visit here.

He also said government monetary and fiscal policy, as well as open trade systems, will be key to improve the situation later next year.

During this visit, Zoellick also called on Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2008)