The Guyana Government on Tuesday signed four new loan agreements with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to secure US million in developmental resources to finance key initiatives within the Legal Affairs, Agriculture, Business and Public Health Ministries.
The agreements were signed by Finance Minister Winston Jordan and President of the IDB, Luis Alberto Moreno, at the Headquarters of the IDB in Washington, DC.
These loans will support Government’s developmental agenda of promoting investment; improving connectivity throughout Guyana; diversifying the economy; and providing citizens with quality healthcare and social services.
From left: Finance Minister Winston Jordan and IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno
The US$15 million Sustainable Agricultural Development Programme will aid in diversifying the agricultural sector and improving its competitiveness and viability. To augment the country’s diversification and enhanced competitiveness thrust, the US$9 million loan is programmed for the Business Ministry to support economic diversification and exports through the enhancement of the National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) and through a National Export and Investment Promotion Strategy.
The Public Health Ministry will benefit from the US$8 million loan, which will provide support to improve maternal and child health. The Legal Affairs Ministry will benefit from the US$8 million loan, which will provide support for the criminal justice system. It is anticipated that through this project, there will be a significant reduction of high concentrations of prison populations in Guyana.
The inking of these agreements is another demonstration of the robust relationship shared between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the IDB. The IDB – Guyana’s main development and multilateral partner – plays a critical role in helping Guyana to access a wide range of concessional resources from other donor countries and agencies. In addition to its own lending window, the IDB is currently involved in an innovative blending of grant and loans with the European Union in two projects, valued over US$96 million. Additionally, the Bank is working with Guyana as the implementing partner in some of its programmes under the Guyana-Norway GRIF Scheme.
The IDB Country Strategy with Guyana for the period 2017-2021 is currently under preparation, which will see further collaborations between Guyana and the Bank.
