``India has chosen a very good course and so far has done very well,'' he told a press conference here. Asked whether the soundness of the economy was due to India's cautious approach to liberalisation, Wolfensohn said that he thought India has done a pretty good job in terms of managing the economy.

The World Bank president said India has not been a place for quick money in terms of global flows. "I think you have been protected from some of the worst impacts of global flows." At the same time, India has been able to gain some good investment, he said.

Another factor he listed for India's good performance was the fact that it had not been overly exposed in terms of global financial flows. "It has not been a place for quick money in terms of trading. So I think you have beenprotected from some of the worst impacts of global flows," he remarked. At the same time, he pointed out, India had been able to attract "pretty good investments. So, I think, India has done a pretty good job, but I wouldn't want to give you a blanket headline on whether that is a reason for one course or another. I think India has chosen a very good course and so far has done very well."

About the situation in Pakistan, where several billion dollars worth of some World Bank-supported infrastructure projects were in "deep" trouble, Wolfensohn said, "I understand the Bank is helping out particularly in relation to the Hub River project, trying to reconcile the differences between the government and the project operators."

Wolfensohn said his lending agency was continuing to work with both Pakistan and India and "the principal reason is that these are the two of the largest sources of poverty in the world." The population living below the poverty line in India, he said, was 36 per cent and in Pakistan itwas at least 16 per cent, though he suspected it was much higher. "But given our focus on environment and poverty, we have to try and find ways of working with them (India and Pakistan)," he said.

Wolfensohn's press conference followed a similar pre-annual briefing by chairman of the international monetary fund Michel Camdessus. IMF chairman Camdessus reiterated his proposal, supported by France but opposed by the US to elevate the interim committee into a council that will not only advise on the IMF's plans but will also implement them.

He pointed out that unlike the ad hoc body of group of 22 the US has put together to discuss the present crisis, including some of the developing countries, the interim committee has a legal status under the IMF's charter and represents all 182 members.

Meanwhile, Wolfensohn took the opportunity to lodge a dignified protest in his personal and not institutional capacity against Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad's treatment of sacked deputy prime minister AnwarIbrahim.

He pointed out that Ibrahim was to chair the joint IMF-World Bank development committee at the forthcoming meeting. "Anwar," said Wolfensohn, "is a friend of mine. It is important to remember that he had a real position in our group -- as chairman of the development committee. I just hope that with the world's eyes on him, he gets a fair chance to state his case."

Discussing the performance of the Bank and its affiliates in fiscal 1998, which ended on June 30, he said the Bank and its concessionary lending agency, the International Development Association (IDA), had extended loans totalling $28.6 billion in commitments. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) which helps the private sector, had a big year, doing about $2.5 billion for its own act and roughly an equivalent amount for others, totalling five billion dollars.