Verheijen signals World Bank's assistance in damage repair

BELGRADE - The World Bank (WB) could approve to Serbia grants-in-aid worth several hundred thousand dollars for the repair of the damage, said World Bank Country Manager for Serbia Tony Verheijen on Tuesday.

During talks with the Serbian finance and economy ministers, officials will learn what kind of assistance is necessary so that the WB could earmark the sum for that, Verheijen said.

The grants are limited, as we are the organization that gives concession loans, and in this case Serbia could take out loans under very favorable conditions, he explained.

These are loans for speedy recovery, but grants are limited to several hundred thousand dollars, Verheijen told Radio-Television of Serbia.

He noted that the WB started activating instruments for assistance to the countries recovering from the catastrophes as soon as they saw the scope of the natural disaster that hit Serbia last weekend.

Noting that the World Bank earlier earmarked USD 500 million for Serbia, Verheijen said that some of the funds could be channelled, in agreement with the government, to other programs for the country's recovery.

Photo www.freeimages.com/John-p (illustration)

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