Yemen, WB sign 2 financial grants worth $39m

Yemen and the World Bank (WB) signed on Saturday on a minutes of a financial grant agreement worth $ 20 million to finance the infrastructure development project for the banking sector. The agreement was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Mohamed and Governor of the Central Bank of Yemen Mohamed bin Hammam and Vice President of the WB for Middle East and North Africa Affairs (MENA) Igner Anderson. The project, which aims to enhance the transparency and efficiency of financial transactions in the financial sector, will be implemented as of this year, and includes the establishment of data centers and systems integration services, capacity building ,establishing a comprehensive credit record ,developing the payments system and improving the basic system in the Central Bank. The two sides also signed a financial grant agreement worth $ 19 million to finance the Climate Information System project and coordinate the program to cope with climate change, which is funded by the Strategic Climate Fund and managed by the World Bank. The project aims to improving the quality of services and climate-related information for users through capacity building of the Authority of Civil Aviation and Meteorology, the Environment Protection Authority ,the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and the General Authority for Water Resources. In this regard, Dr.al-Sa’adi confirmed that Yemen is still vulnerable to climate change factors, which threatens its food security and that more than 50% of the labor force in Yemen is concentrated in the agricultural sector. Moreover, Yemen and WB held a session of talks focused on strengthening the existing partnership to meet needs and aspirations of the Yemeni people and laying the necessary foundations for the implementation of the outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue in an orderly within a timetable . During the talks, Dr. al-Sa’adi praised the role of the WB and its mission in Sana’a in mobilizing the regional and international support to support the dialogue outputs. He reviewed the political and economic developments and the course of the national dialogue ,noting to the follow up of the outcomes of the Friends of Yemen Meeting and activities of the newly-formed executive body to follow up the donors' pledges to cope up with the joint accountability agreement. The Minister of Planning renewed his call for raising the ceiling of aid for Yemen through the International Development Association (IDA) to finance the overall development projects. For its part, Anderson pointed out that the bank has fulfilled 80% of the commitments it pledged during the Group of Friends of Yemen meeting in September 2012 ,noting that the bank allocated $ 300 million of the total pledges amounting $ 400 million.. The WB’s official renewed the Bank’s commitment to support Yemen during the political transitional phase, especially in the basic services development project. “We are proud to stand by Yemeni people for building the new Yemen”, she said.