|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 20 July 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
World Bank reaffirms confidence in Lanka's economic prospects by Elmo Leonard The World Bank (WB) has cited several reasons for increasing financial assistance to Sri Lanka. WB Resident Country Director Peter Harrold said the ongoing peace process; the ceasefire which has held for 18 months; commitments shown by both warring sides towards resolving their differences; the Government's continuing economic reforms and monetary policy towards development and reduction of poverty were among the factors taken into account. With Sri Lanka at a critical juncture, the WB directors discussed a new strategy to support the Government's development objectives, Harrold told a news conference. The bank has pledged an additional $800 million over 2003-2006, about $200 million a year, as well as a significant programme of analytical collaboration to underpin the Government's plans, under the Sri Lanka Country Assistance Strategy (CAS). This amount is significantly higher than the WB's International Development Association funding over the last five years, which averaged about $60 million. "The document sets out the forecast uses of these resources, but the amounts and the exact activities will be adapted flexibly as we proceed," Harrold said. For the next two years, the WB has been authorised to increase the total commitment to Sri Lanka from $200 million a year, to $300 million and $1 billion over the four years. Answering queries about the debt burden following the Tokyo parley in June, where $4.5 billion was pledged to Sri Lanka, Harrold said that of the $300 million the WB can commit in the next 12 months, about $140 million would be in the form of grants and the balance on the usual terms of zero interest, with repayments over 40 years, starting in 2013. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
