Singapore - World Bank president Robert Zoellick on Wednesday said he was comfortable about the prospects for the world economy in 2009, but advised governments not to remove their stimulus packages in 2010.

"I feel relatively comfortable about the growth prospects in 2009," Zoellick said on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Singapore.

"I see some risks for 2010," he added, noting that one downturn risk was the handover from the public to the private sector after governments introduced financial and fiscal stimulus packages to overcome the global recession.

Zoellick said the stimulus measures should "follow through the course of 2010," but there should be no new packages.

Regarding the exit from stimulus measures, "there needs to be consultation and coordination," he said.

"There should be a cooperative response," said Zoellick, but "one has to distinguish different market circumstances."

"Recovery globally is not going to be symmetrical. It's going to be at different paces," he said.

Another downturn risk for the global economy in 2010 was large-scale unemployment which could affect the banking system, Zoellick warned, spurring problems with credit card debt or consumer loans.

Another risk was a change in the pattern of demand after the crisis, he said.

"We can no longer expect the US consumer and the US to be the engine of demand as they have been in the past," he said, adding that there needed to be a shift away from the "global reliance" on US consumption. (dpa)