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| Jamaica's Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw | |
KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 10, 2008 - The Bruce Golding administration is moving to reduce the cost of doing business in Jamaica.
The government has received the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) assistance in reaching that goal.
Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno have signed a US$30 million for a Competitiveness Enhancement Programme for the Caribbean island as part of a proposed US$90 million loan to enhance competitiveness in Jamaica in the 2008/2009fiscal year.
"The program seeks to enhance competitiveness in Jamaica by promoting specific reforms to reduce the cost of doing business and establishing a sustainable frame-work for public private dialogue, thereby improving efficiency and the ability of businesses to compete in an increasingly global marketplace," the IDB said in a release.
The projected will be executed by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).
Mr. Shaw said he was satisfied that his deliberate policy of re-engaging with the IDB on a more intensive basis was already bearing fruit.
A release from the Jamaica government indicated that during the course of this fiscal year, two additional loan agreements with the IDB of US$30 million each, based on its commitment to effect reforms to transform education and improve fiscal management, are expected to be signed.
This will represent a total of US$150 million in policy-based loans from the IDB.
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