VIENTIANE, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has agreed to provide credit of 40 million U.S. dollars to the Lao government to foster its green growth reform.
The international financial institution announced this week that its executive board of directors made the loan approval decision on Tuesday. However, there are no details yet as to when the government will sign the loan agreement with the bank, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Thursday.
According to a media release from the World Bank, the credit is provided to finance the Second Programmatic Green Growth Development Policy Operation, which aims to foster reform, strengthen fiscal and financial sustainability, and incorporate green growth principles into development planning.
“This operation is aligned with the government of the Lao PDR’s green growth vision, as articulated in the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the new National Green Growth Strategy for 2030,” Laos’ Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Kikeo Chanthaboury said as quoted in the media release.
“Our transition to a greener development model can help sustain Laos’ strong economic growth and make the country more resilient to climate change,” he added.
The World Bank says in its media release that the operation supports a suite of policy reforms seeking to mainstream green growth principles across sectors. These will make infrastructure more resilient to mounting climate risks, manage pollution that harms human health and productivity, and improve the management of water resources, forests and protected areas.
A cleaner and more resource-efficient growth model helps the poor, who are most vulnerable to pollution, climate risks, and deforestation, the bank says.
“Green growth can bring new opportunities to the people of the Lao PDR, while safeguarding the environment and human health,” World Bank Director for Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR, Ellen Goldstein said, “The Lao PDR has enacted important reforms, including establishing the country’s first national park, issuing a new water law for improved river basin management, curbing illegal logging, and managing pollution that undermines human capital. We are pleased to support these efforts, while also enhancing the country’s fiscal and financial sustainability.”
The operation will also help Laos to address its debt burden and fiscal deficits by supporting a medium-term fiscal framework aimed at improving revenue generation, strengthening debt management and public financial management, and enhancing the stability of the finance sector.
This operation, the second in a series of three, builds on the foundations established in the First Programmatic Green Growth Development Policy Operation approved in 2017.
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