Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Van Ardenne and Zalm to visit Georgia and Armenia

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Van Ardenne and Zalm to visit Georgia and Armenia

    Harold Doan and Associates (press release), CA
    June 3 2005

    Van Ardenne and Zalm to visit Georgia and Armenia

    Press Release - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    >>From 10 to 12 June, Minister for Development Cooperation Agnes van
    Ardenne and Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm will visit Georgia and
    Armenia, two of the Netherlands' development partners. They will be
    meeting representatives of government, NGOs, financial institutions
    and UN organisations. In Armenia, Zalm and Van Ardenne will sign
    agreements facilitating Dutch investment there. The trip will end
    with informal talks between the members of the Netherlands'
    constituency at the World Bank and IMF.

    In 2005, Georgia and Armenia will receive ~@4 and [email protected] million
    respectively in general budget support from the Netherlands. These
    funds will be spent on the priorities discussed in a strategic plan
    drawn up by the governments of the countries themselves, civil
    society and donor countries. These priorities include combating
    corruption and promoting good governance (in the case of Georgia) and
    improving tax collection and strengthening small and medium-sized
    businesses (in the case of Armenia). The Dutch private sector can
    also help through grant programmes like the Programme for Cooperation
    with Emerging Markets (PSOM) and joint ventures with local firms. The
    Dutch embassy in Armenia and Georgia is also funding a number of
    projects relating to government financial management. One such
    project aims to make government expenditure more transparent.

    The Netherlands represents eleven countries at the World Bank and
    IMF, including Georgia and Armenia. On their own, these countries
    would be too small to have a seat on the Executive Board, and hence
    they are grouped together in constituencies. As the largest
    shareholder, the Netherlands heads the constituency and provides the
    executive directors (World Bank: Ad Melkert, IMF: Jeroen Kremers).
    Each year, the finance and development ministers of the countries in
    the Netherlands' constituency take part in informal talks. This year,
    they will be held in Georgia.
Working...
X