World Bank
Mandate:
The World Bank is a multilateral agency which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, in education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other important sectors.
In Kosovo since: 1999
At a glance: The World Bank has committed over $130 million to Kosovo since the end of the conflict, with all assistance provided on a grant basis. World Bank funded projects attracted another $ 20 million from other donors.
Reflecting Kosovo’s post-conflict situation, the Bank has initially focused on providing opportunities for the poor and for those most
affected by conflict, as well as on improving critical social services and ensuring that poor people have access to those services.It also actively assisted capacity-building of Kosovo’s institutions of government.
As Kosovo moved from post-conflict reconstruction, the World Bank increasingly focused on longer-term economic development. Through the Lignite Power Technical Assistance Project and the Clean-Up and Land Reclamation Project, the Bank is helping to improve the environment for private sector investment in the energy and lignite mining sector in Kosovo, and is assisting the authorities in tackling the historic environmental issues related to the energy sector. At the same time, through a fiscal policy support grant - requested by the Kosovo authorities - the Bank is supporting - among other - improvements in public expenditure management and is ensuring that appropriate resources are allocated to poverty reduction priorities.
The strategy document guiding the work of the World Bank in Kosovo in 2008 includes two new projects:
- The Institutional Development for Education project ($10 million) aimed at mobilization and guidance of donor support to the implementation of two education sector strategies: a) Strategy for Development of Pre-University Education in Kosovo (2007-2017) and b) Strategy for Development of Higher Education in Kosovo (2005-2015) and
- The Financial Sector Technical Assistance which will also build on a program of coordinated donor assistance to support regulation, supervision and capacity building in the financial sector.
In the 2008 Annual Meetings the Board of the World bank established a Multi Donor Trust Fund Program to support the Goverment of Kosovo over a three year period to design and implement reform conducive to sustainable employment generation and sound public management.
The World bank will transfer US$ million of IBRD surplus to this program.
Contacts:
World Bank Office
Mr Lundrim Aliu
Tel: + 381 (0) 38 249 459;
Fax: + 381 (0) 38 249 780
Address: Mujo Ulqinaku 3, Prishtina, 10000, Kosovo
E-mail: laliu1@worldbank.org
Web: www.worldbank.org and www.worldbank.org/kosovo