Emerging economies to recover slowly with poor nations left disregarded

On Thursday World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that the recovery in emerging economies will likely be weak with the growth remaining limited.

She said that low-income nations are facing the risk to be being forgotten in the global economic crisis, but they also have a part to play in the world's recovery.

"Many are suffering in humanitarian terms, another 90 million people will fall into poverty in these low income countries as a result of the crisis," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters television in an interview on the sidelines of an emerging markets conference.

While investors are more inclined to focus on the emerging giants of China and India, but poorer countries were also crucial to world growth, she stressed.

"They can be part of global demand. Emerging markets outside of China, India will play an important role."

In Africa, Okonjo-Iweala said war-torn countries were particularly vulnerable in the crisis.

"I worry very much about the poorest and conflict-affected states. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Chad, Sudan, parts of Ethiopia were suffering before, now we have the financial crisis loaded on top of that."

Ahead of a G20 summit of developed and emerging market leaders in Pittsburgh next week, she said more could be done for low-income states.

"At the G20 summit in London, there was a nod towards them -- there was a question of $50 billion for low-income countries. Estimates of their needs far surpass that."