New York – Sri Indrawati, World Bank Group Managing Director, began a two-day visit to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to assess the peace process in the country, and also inspect projects being financed by the bank.
A World Bank statement in New York on Tuesday said Indrawati would meet with President Joseph Kabila, Prime Minister Matata Ponyo, and key members of the Congolese Government on the long-term development prospects for the DRC as well as progress related to the Great Lakes Regional Initiative.
It said the visit would confirm the continued support of the World Bank Group for this regional initiative, which was launched after the joint visit of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in May 2013.
It noted that the Great Lakes Regional Initiative was an integral part of the visit because it was aimed at supporting the peace agreement signed in February 2013 by 11 countries.
It said the bank group had announced one billion dollars to support the initiative through various programmes.
It said the initiative would help the countries of the region to improve their health and education services, expand cross-border trade and finance hydroelectric projects.
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The statement said Indrawati would also travel to Goma to meet with the provincial authorities and inspect the Goma International airport which recently received World Bank funding under the Goma Airport Safety Improvement Project.
It added that she would also visit the Heal Africa Hospital, supported by the Great Lakes Emergency Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Women’s Health Project.
The bank said the projects were demonstration of its total commitments to assist with peace-building efforts in the sub-region.
The World Bank Group was one of the main partners of DRC, and its portfolio in the country includes 25 current projects amounting to 3.5 billion dollars, and two regional projects totaling 1.14 billion dollars.
It supports mainly projects related to infrastructure rehabilitation.
This includes roads, railway, potable water, electricity and public finance management governance in four provinces and the mining sector. (PANA/NAN)