World Bank Mission to Visit Antigua and Barbuda

St John’s Antigua, April 23, 2010. A mission from the World Bank will visit Antigua and Barbuda in the coming months, to discuss ways in which the Bank can provide financial assistance to the country. The proposed visit was agreed to as Antigua and Barbuda’s delegation continued discussions in Washington on Thursday and Friday with World Bank and IMF officials about the country’s Fiscal Consolidation Programme.

The delegation, headed by Finance Minister Harold Lovell, met with the World Bank Caribbean Country Director Ms Yvonne Tsikata (pronounced see-ka-ta), who indicated that the actions being pursued by the government place Antigua and Barbuda in a favourable position to reengage with the World Bank and to access resources from the institution.

Another area of possible collaboration discussed was enhancing regulation and strengthening capacity in the international financial services sector. The Bank also indicated its eagerness to provide support to Antigua and Barbuda in the area of social safety nets.

Ms. Tsikata advised that under the Regional Partnership Strategy, Antigua and Barbuda may be able to access resources to advance work in areas identified in the NEST Plan. The Strategy is a World Bank initiative that facilitates development efforts in the region. The World Bank is already assisting Antigua and Barbuda with its public sector transformation initiative.

Minister Lovell and his team also met with the assistant director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, representatives of the Money and Capital Markets Department, and the executive director for the United Kingdom.

The team was given an update on the status of the internal review process of Antigua and Barbuda’s programme as agreed to in March. The first draft of the document is being reviewed within the Western Hemisphere Department and will shortly be submitted for review by other departments within the Fund. The IMF is expected to submit the programme for Board approval in late May/early June.

The representatives of the money and capital market department have indicated a willingness to assist Antigua and Barbuda with its strategies for debt management and medium term financing. These are important to ensure that the objectives of fiscal and debt sustainability are achieved during the programme and sustained after the three-year Standby Arrangement has ended.

Minister Lovell and his delegation return to Antigua over the weekend.