Jerusalem, May 24, 2010 – The World Bank today transferred an additional US$91 million to the Palestinian Authority (PA). These resources will help support the urgent budget needs of the 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 latest contribution, generously donated by the governments of Kuwait and the United Kingdom, represents the twelfth tranche disbursed from the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund (PRDP-TF), a multi-donor budget support mechanism administered by the World Bank. With contributions from Kuwait and the United Kingdom, total transfers to the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund (PRDP-TF) and successively to the PA, have reached US$499 million.
The twelfth tranche was released following the steady progress made by the PA during the first quarter of 2010 in implementing budgetary and fiscal reforms, increasing government transparency and accountability.
“This contribution is also supporting the PA to establish solid institutions to deliver government services and foster economic growth to instill confidence among the Palestinian people and international partners”, said Ms. Mariam Sherman, Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza.
The World Bank PRDP TF was established on April 10, 2008, with an agreement signed between the World Bank and the Palestinian Authority during the 2008 World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings at 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 Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Kuwait, Norway, Poland, and United Kingdom have contributed to this Fund. Since 2008, the World Bank has disbursed in parallel an additional US$80 million through two Development Policy Grants.
