SARAJEVO, May 12 (Hina) - The newly-appointed director of the World Bank for Bosnia-Herzegovina and the regional co-ordinator for south-eastern Europe, Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, has called on authorities in Sarajevo to intensify their
efforts in reforms if they plan to attract the attention of the international community, which is currently focused more on other crisis spots such as Iraq.
SARAJEVO, May 12 (Hina) - The newly-appointed director of the World
Bank for Bosnia-Herzegovina and the regional co-ordinator for
south-eastern Europe, Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, has called on
authorities in Sarajevo to intensify their efforts in reforms if
they plan to attract the attention of the international community,
which is currently focused more on other crisis spots such as Iraq.
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After talks she held with Bosnia's top officials on Monday,
Kalantzopoulos told reporters the World Bank was particularly
interested in the strengthening of the private sector as the only
real driving force of economic growth of Bosnia.
Since 1996, the World Bank has approved more than 940 million U.S.
dollars of loans for Bosnia through the so-called IDA programme.
Such loans are practically paid back without interest rates and
with only a one-percent annual provision for the servicing of the
debt. The period for the repayment is 35 years, with a ten-year
grace period. A great share of that amount has been granted to
Bosnia for its structural adjustment, i.e. technical assistance in
the preparation of privatisation projects.
The chairman of the Bosnian Council of Ministers, Adnan Terzic, has
warned that the country will soon be stripped of the possibility of
receiving financial assistance through the IDA programme, as the
country's Gross Domestic Product will soon exceed the minimum set
by the World Bank for approving interest-free loans to the poorest
countries.
The Bosnian premier announced that the remaining $30 million, still
available to Bosnia through the IDA programme, would be directed as
an incentive in the private sector instead of being used in
technical projects.
According to the World Bank, Bosnia is currently a moderately
indebted country, capable of servicing its foreign debt. Local
authorities, however, have received a warning from Washington to be
more careful in incurring new debts until 2006, when Sarajevo must
be able to pay back $500 million annually for covering the first
loans from World Bank funds.
(hina) ms