Given a slowing economy, a housing crisis and a falling dollar in the United States, key is whether Robert Zoellick can convince Washington to increase its share of funding to the International Development Association, or IDA -- enough to stay ahead of Britain as the World Bank's biggest donor nation.

The IDA is the World Bank's lending arm. Every three years the World Bank passes the hat around its 40 biggest donors to determine its funding for development projects in impoverished countries.

In an interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Zoellick said several new donors, including some Baltic states, Cyprus and Egypt, had committed funding.

South Africa and Brazil have indicated they would increase their contributions, while there were indications that oil producers Kuwait and Saudi Arabia could add to funding, he added.

He said he hoped talks in Beijing next week could see China joining the donor ranks.

"I am hopeful we will have an ambitious replenishment," Zoellick said. "This is still in play. I'm still calling people and we're working on it."

"I am encouraged by the support I have gotten from capitals ...even with their budget stringency, I think they are trying to stretch," he added.

An added layer to the negotiations are concerns that agreement in 2005 to write off the debts of poor countries will reduce IDA's financing ability unless donors fulfill a promise in the latest fund raising round to compensate IDA, which was most affected by the debt relief plan.

Some staff estimated the IDA shortfall from debt relief was around $10 billion. Just last week, Japan, the bank's third-largest donor, pledged its cooperation but said tighter fiscal conditions and a weaker yen could have implications for its contribution.

CHALLENGING DONORS

Zoellick has challenged donors to ratchet up aid for IDA, announcing in October the bank would double its own contribution to $3.5 billion, with the help of profits from its private-sector lending unit.

He has also left the door open for a role for the private sector to help fund IDA.

Ahead of the Berlin meeting, Zoellick said he was focusing on three key issues: agreement on policies that would determine IDA's lending, the amount of money needed and broadening the number of donors to the fund.

Annual IDA disbursements have grown to about $10 billion annually, so the fund remains the leading provider of development assistance to poor countries, Zoellick said. The group had the expertise to be the main coordinator of global aid funding.

"Given that you've got fragmentation of aid, IDA is the one sum that really works with countries to integrate different national and other aid programs so that it is comprehensive and fits together," Zoellick said.

"And it is the one program that countries can rely on in an interactive process so they determine their priorities," he said.

Asked whether contributions to IDA would be a test of donors' confidence in his leadership, Zoellick said: "I don't think that's a fully accurate test. But you have budgets in countries, budget pressures, currency issues and I don't control those."

"What I do think is people have been very responsive to the agenda we've set as an institution, so I'm hopeful we can get a good result."