Kuwait Contributes US80$Million to World Bank- administered Multi-donor Trust Fund in Support of Palestinians
Contact:
In Washington:Dina Elnaggar
dnaggar@worldbank.org
Tel: 202 473 3245
In West Bank:Nabila Assaf
nassaf@worldbank.org
Washington, August 11, 2008– The World Bank Managing Director Juan Jose Daboub signed today an agreement with the Ambassador of Kuwait in Washington H.E. Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al-Sabah to transfer US$80 million to the World Bank-administered multi-donor Trust Fund to support the ongoing Palestinian Reform and Development Program (PRDP).
The Kuwaiti contribution will allow total transfers from trust fund and from the linked World Bank Funds to reach US$275 million. These resources will help support the urgent budget needs of the Palestinian Authority (PA), providing inter alia support for education, health care and other vital social services for the Palestinian people and for the economic reforms currently underway.
“This generous contribution is timely to maintain the momentum of reforms that are being introduced by the PA which will also allow the continuation of vital social services,” said Mr. Daboub. Ambassador Al Jaber Al-Sabah underlined the importance of ensuring that the basic needs of the Palestinian people were safeguarded during a most difficult period, and the appreciation of Kuwait for the work of the World Bank in the West Bank and in Gaza.
The World Bank PRDP Trust Fund was established on April 10, 2008, when an agreement was signed between the World Bank and the Palestinian Authority during the 2008 World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in the World Bank Headquarters. It is a central component of a World Bank effort to support the ongoing Palestinian Reform and Development Plan. The governments of Norway, Australia, the UK, France and Finland have already contributed to this Fund, while contributions by Canada, Poland, and a second contribution from the UK are now in process, in addition to the current Kuwaiti contribution. Approximately US$148 million has already been disbursed from this fund and from associated World Bank resources to date.
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For more information on the World Bank’s work in the West Bank and Gaza,
please visit
www.worldbank.org/ps
MENA Economies Are Growing but Need to Continue With Structural Reforms to Keep Up In an Increasingly Competitive World
Contact:
Omer Karasapan
(202) 473-8177
okarasapan@worldbank.org
Washington June 30, 2008— According to MENA Economic Prospects and Developments 2008, the GDP of the MENA region grew by 5.7 percent in 2007, marking the fifth year in a row that average growth was above 5 percent. While this is impressive in relation to past performance, it is lower than growth achieved in most other parts of the developing world. To keep up in an increasingly competitive global environment, the region will have to continue to make structural reforms in business climate, trade policy and governance.
"Despite notable improvements in the business climate in some countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as a whole the region has failed to keep pace with business climate reforms elsewhere," said Carlos Silva (Lead Economist).He added: “Regardingtrade reforms, substantial progress has been made in reducing tariffs and the time required for import and export processing yet non-tariff barriers remain high and many aspects of trade logistics performance, reflecting the quality of customs, ports and transport arrangements, still need to be addressed.”
The report notes that progress with regard to governance has been mixed. On the one hand, the quality of public administration remains relatively high in MENA, ranking above East Asia, Latin America, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. On the other hand, the quality of public accountability remains relatively low in MENA, ranking below all other regions of the world. However, in terms of reform efforts devoted to improving accountability, MENA ranked in the 67th percentile, above all other regions. This reflects a range of recent
