Lima, May 20 (ANDINA). Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez will meet Thursday with the World Bank's Director of Economic Policy and Poverty Reduction Programs for Latin America and the Caribbean, Marcelo Giugale.

The meeting will be held at 16:30 hours (21:30 GMT) at the Hall of Ambassadors in the Government Palace in Lima.

Peru's National Statistics and Information Institute (INEI) has recently announced that poverty in Peru dropped in 2009, moving from 36.2% to 34.8%, based on a total population of 30 million.

“This result contrasts with other countries in which the financial crisis has caused an increase in poverty levels” said INEI director Renan Quispe.

The biggest drop was noted in urban centers, where the poverty rate dropped from 23.5% in 2008 to 21.1% in 2009.

(END) GCO/EEP