All countries share the goal of generating robust economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable, and the World Bank should step up efforts to help address a range of economic and social challenges facing its member countries, Jim Yong Kim,U.S. nominee for the World Bank presidency, said on Wednesday.

The Bank must remain an effective partner in strengthening the foundations and fairness of the global economy, and in ensuring that the benefits of growth are widely shared, according to Kim's written statement to the Bank's board of directors, released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday.

"The Bank must maintain a sound financial structure that lends credibility and capacity to respond when called upon," he noted.

Countries continue to call on the Bank for not only country- level financing for improvements in financial markets, infrastructure, agriculture, governance and other sectors, but also at the global level to help address shared challenges like gender equity, climate change, green growth, trade finance, job creation, and food security, Kim said.

"In helping to address these concerns, the Bank is an unparalleled resource for its members, not only for financing but also knowledge and convening power," added the Korean-born American health expert and president of Dartmouth College.

The 25-member board was scheduled to interview Kim on Wednesday. The Washington-based global lender interviewed the other two contenders -- Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo -- on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

The Bank is expected to pick a candidate by its spring meetings scheduled to kick off in Washington D.C. on April 20, to replace Robert Zoellick, whose term ends in June.