Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, and the World Bank’s Country Director and Regional Coordinator for Southeastern Europe, Ellen Goldstein, Thursday signed two new World Bank-financed projects, the Kosovo Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project (US$31 million) and Kosovo Health Project (US$25.5 million).

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved Thursday a new US$425 million project for Argentina that seeks to promote quality job opportunities for 540,000 young adults living in vulnerable socio-economic conditions. The project will provide job training, intermediation and other employment services.

Austria should set a timeframe to increase its aid budget in line with a pledge to allocate 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) to development aid, according to an OECD Review.

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Bhaswar Mukhopadhyay, visited Banjul from January 8-14, 2015. Though The Gambia remains completely free of Ebola, the crisis has caused a deep decline in tourism related activities, the economy’s principal foreign currency earner.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Wednesday approved a successor two-year arrangement for the Republic of Poland under the Flexible Credit Line (FCL) with reduced access in an amount equivalent to SDR 15.5 billion (about US$23 billion, or
918 percent of quota).

Following another disappointing year in 2014, developing countries should see an uptick in growth this year, boosted in part by soft oil prices, a stronger U.S. economy, continued low global interest rates, and receding domestic headwinds in several large emerging markets, says the World Bank Group’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, released Tuesday.

The World Bank expects the Philippine economy to grow at 6.5 percent in 2015 and 2016 despite a weak global economy. Sustaining this level of high growth and making it inclusive over the long term will enable the country to eradicate poverty and boost shared prosperity within a generation.

The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors Monday approved a new US$80 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA*) to help Burkina Faso expand access to clean water and sanitation services for the poor in the urban communities surrounding the capital city of Ouagadougou.

The socio-economic impacts of Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone are far-reaching and persistent, according to two new World Bank Group reports. Both countries continue to experience job losses, despite their differing health outlooks.

The Republic of Belarus and the World Bank signed the Loan Agreement for a US$250 million loan to the Republic of Belarus for a Transit Corridor Improvement Project, following the loan’s approval by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on December 19, 2014. The Loan Agreement was signed by Mr. Alexei Avramenko, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus, and Mr. Young Chul Kim, World Bank Country Manager for Belarus.