Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

As crime and violence continue to be a pervasive and costly problem in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the region needs to increase prevention efforts based on a clearer understanding of the complex circumstances that fuel this reality and policies that are proven to work, according to a new World Bank report released here on February 7.

The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank on February 7, signed a $25 million agreement to further strengthen road maintenance systems and improve road connectivity throughout the country. The new Lao PDR Road Sector II Project is part of the country’s national program to build climate resilient roads and infrastructure.

The World Bank Group has earmarked US$200 million for upgrading Lebanon’s road network, seen as a risk to public safety as well as an impediment to urban-rural development and equitable economic growth. The funds will be used to repair around 500 kilometers of roads in the first phase of a broader government plan to revamp the country’s crumbling road sector.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on February 6, released the staff report prepared in connection with the approval of the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) for Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. On November 18, 2016, the Board approved Haiti’s request for a disbursement of 30.7125 million SDR (about US$41.6 million) in financial assistance under the RCF, to help with urgent balance of payments needs in the aftermath of the Category 4 hurricane that struck the nation on October 4.

The European Investment Bank and Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) have agreed to back a new initiative expected to support EUR 112 million of new investment in privately owned forests across Ireland. This new engagement with Dasos represents the first Irish agricultural project and the first forest project in Europe to be supported by the Investment Plan for Europe that seeks to unlock EUR 315 billion of new investment.

With the conclusion of the latest round of the Capacity Market UK Government continues to guarantee homes and businesses have a reliable electricity supply all year round.

Possessing the second highest growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, Côte d'Ivoire must now seek to strengthen its human capital by improving its education system and the quality of public expenditure allocated to the sector if it is to obtain greater equitable growth going forward. This is one of the key findings of the latest World Bank Economic Update on Côte d'Ivoire titled “The Skills Challenge: Why Côte d'Ivoire Must Reform Its Education System”.

The World Bank issued ,on February 2, its new Turkey Regular Economic Note (TREN) which focuses on the recent economic developments and provides World Bank forecasts on key macroeconomic indicators in Turkey on a quarterly basis. The Bank revised its growth forecast for 2016 to 2.1 percent, as recovery in Q4 was weaker than envisaged earlier. In 2017, growth in Turkey is expected to recover to 2.7 percent in 2017 thanks to improving net exports.