MOGADISHU, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has approved two investment programs worth about 80 million U.S. dollars for Somalia as well as the first four-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) to help spur inclusive growth and resilience.
Bella Bird, the World Bank's Country Director for Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi and Somalia, said the strategy will support the government's goal to expand service delivery, build resilience to climatic shocks, and boost economic opportunities in Somalia.
"For this CPF, our focus is to support Somalia's institutions to extend their reach in providing services to citizens and to scale up our interventions that will open up economic opportunities," Bird said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
She said the strategy for 2019-2022 reflects the progress in economic reforms and institution building since 2013, and marks the first International Development Association (IDA) financing for government in more than 30 years.
Bird said the World Bank's role since reengaging has been to help Somalia rebuild core institutions that can restore citizens' trust and redistribute resources to address extreme poverty and begin to create opportunities for those who have been excluded.
Hafez Ghanem, Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, said Somalia's stability and prosperity are key to the stability of the region as a whole and lauded the government for their commitment to reform and the steps taken towards building a better future for the country.
"Somalia provides a global example for how the Bank can operate in the most challenging contexts where our help is needed most," said Ghanem.
The lender said the Horn of Africa nation has made progress in building institutions and improving economic performance through legislation, revenue mobilization, and engagement with the private sector since its reengagement.
It said political, economic and security reforms achieved over the last five years have led to an opportunity to address structural drivers of fragility.
The CPF will help increase revenue, build capacity of municipalities for urban resilience and improve delivery systems for more inclusive social services, said the World Bank.
It said the strategy also aims to improve the business environment and increase access to finance for greater inclusion and increase access to energy and water for rural resilience and productivity.
