TIRANA, April 9ountry Manager of the World Bank Office in Albania, Camille Nuamah, said that Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Albania 2010-2014 will be submitted for approval to World Bank Board of Executive Directors in the early summer.
Following discussions with the authorities the Bank is currently undertaking internal reviews, after which the draft strategy will be consulted with Government and other stakeholders.
Since 1991, the Bank has invested over almost 1 billion USD in interest free credits, all across the country, having now 265 million USD of resources under implementation, the World Bank office in Tirana reported.
Bank-financed investments are present in over 230 communes and 43 municipalities.
“Albania has graduated to accessing the Bank’s commercial financing. This means that under the new CPS, there is a need to be more selective in the number and scope of projects, but also to pay close attention to their implementation rates,” the World Bank added.
Record US$100 Billion Response Lays Foundation for Recovery from Global Economic Crisis
World Bank Group financial commitments since July 2008, just before the full fury of the financial crisis hit, reached US$ 100 billion today as the institution helped countries respond to and recover from the global downturn. This support is an all-time high for the global development Bank and includes safety nets for the poor, infrastructure to create jobs and build a foundation for recovery, agriculture to support small farmers, and microfinance to help small and micro enterprises.
The speed and scale of the Bank’s response since July 2008 is unprecedented. World Bank (IBRD and IDA) lending to health and social services increased significantly from $1.6 billion in FY08 to $6.3 billion in FY09 and to $5.1 billion in just the first nine months of FY 10. Bank commitments supporting social safety net programs for the poorest and most vulnerable citizens in the poorest countries increased exponentially from $253m in FY08 to $3.1 billion in FY09 and to $2.1 billion to date in FY10.
“I’m very pleased the World Bank Group has stepped up and delivered during the economic crisis. Our developing country partners know that we will assist them in their development needs,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “As the multi-speed recovery takes shape around the world, countries will face recurring and new challenges, and the World Bank will continue to provide support to overcome poverty and foster sustainable growth.”
Bank Encourages Candidate Countries to Complete EITI Validation Process
Ahead of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Board meeting in Berlin on April 15-16, the World Bank Group called on candidate countries to maximize their efforts to achieve the key transparency milestone of completing EITI validation as soon as possible.
The EITI process seeks to commit oil, gas, and mining companies to publish the payments they make to governments and to commit governments to publish the revenues they receive from companies in the sector. The two sets of numbers are compared and give societies in the respective countries the opportunity to monitor the prudent use of income from extracting and selling natural resources like oil, gas, gold, copper, and others.
A total of 32 countries, Albania included, are currently implementing the EITI as compliant or candidate countries.
