Washington, September 14, 2011 – The World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati signed today an agreement with the Ambassador of Kuwait in Washington H.E. Sheik Salem Abdullah Al Jaber Al-Sabah to transfer US$50 million to the World Bank-administered multi-donor Trust Fund to support the ongoing Palestinian Reform and Development Program (PRDP). This amount is in addition to the $130 million that the State of Kuwait generously provided to the PRDP trust fund in 2008 and 2010.
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.
“The Trust Fund is central in supporting the Palestinian reform and development plan, a catalyst for economic growth. We are grateful to the State of Kuwait for their contribution,” said Ms. Indrawati. “The World Bank’s involvement in supporting and monitoring the reform effort will strengthen the PA’s capacity to quickly enact reforms and to support the Palestinian people in their quest for a better future.”
Ambassador Al-Sabah reiterated Kuwait’s steadfast and continued support for the PA and highlighted the importance of the PA reform program and praised the significant progress made. “The budget support is crucial at this juncture of time and the PA should be able to preserve and carry on with its institution-building and delivery of better public services,” he added.
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 Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Norway, Poland, and the UK have already contributed to this Fund. With the new contribution from Kuwait, the trust fund will reach US$706 million, of which approximately US$657 million have already been disbursed.
In addition, the World Bank has contributed $120 million of its own resources (through three Development Policy Grants) to support the budget of the Palestinian Authority.
