World Bank green-lights budget support loan of 750 mln euros for Romania

Photo credit: (c) Sorin LUPSA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank Group has green-lighted a budget support loan of 750 million euros to Romania, targeting the reform to strengthen public debt management, increase in quality of public expenditures, improvement in performance of state companies and the functioning of capital, real estate and energy markets.

According to a World Bank release, the bank's management discussed also a Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Romania in the period 2014 to 2017, with the new strategy being the cooperation framework between the bank and Romania's Government in the next four years.

The support of 750 million euros represents the first operation in a series of loans included in the new CPS from 2014 to 2017. The loan has maturity of 18 years and a grace period of 17.5 years.

'Romania and the World Bank Group are developing a partnership already solid and fruitful,' said World Bank Director for Central Europe and Baltic Countries, Mamta Murtha.

In his turn, Minister-Delegate for Budget and Governor for Romania of World Bank Group, Liviu Voinea said that Romania is now better prepared than in 2008 to absorb regional and global volatilities, and its macroeconomic stability allows reaching the objective of over 3.5% economic growth in the medium term.

'Our concern for the next time horizon is for Romania to continue its economic growth trend and the implementation of structural reforms. We hail the World Bank's decision to support this desideratum, inclusively through the new country partnership, whose objectives reflect also our wish to provide predictability to the business milieu and a more efficient public sector. ( ... ) I know that the business milieu is expecting measures proving that we...

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