World Bank unveils new strategic plan for Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Group on Tuesday unveiled its strategic plan for Ethiopia, which will guide the Bank's operational plan and support to the east African country for the coming five years.

The newly launched strategic plan for Ethiopia, which will be implemented from 2018 to 2022, is said to be aligned with the Ethiopian government's second five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II), due effective from 2016 to 2020.

Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director to Ethiopia, said during the launching program that the primary focus area of the bank in Ethiopia is promoting structural and economic transformation through increased productivity.

According to Turk, Ethiopia's success in achieving structural and economic transformation would depend on sustaining the economic growth rates of the past decade, which could be realized by boosting productivity and competitiveness through finding sustainable solutions for infrastructure financing.

Supporting Ethiopian government's endeavor in building resilience and inclusiveness, enabling institutional accountability and confronting corruption were said to be the major targets of the bank through this strategic plan.

Though the government has established several formal feedback mechanisms at local levels and for specific services, additional investment in accountability and transparency mechanisms is needed, she elaborated.

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with close to 104 million people, aspires to reach a lower middle-income economy by 2025.

The Ethiopian government hopes the GTP-II will help it reach the target. Enditem