World Bank approves 80 million dollar grant

The World Bank on December 13 approved a grant of 80 million US dollars as continued support for the reconstruction process in Afghanistan. “The programme support by the grant is at the core of the government‘s objective to build an accountable and effective state. This is critical for successful poverty reduction,” Jean Mazurelle, the bank’s country manager for Afghanistan, noted in a press release. The government has made significant progress in implementing important economic reforms since the World Bank financed the first Programmatic Support for Institution Building project in July 2004.

In a September 2005 review of its programme in Afghanistan, the bank highlighted that the issue of weak capacity within the fledgling government - notably to carry out the legal reform agenda - should be addressed by a subsequent assistance programme.