Endorsed by ADB’s Board of Directors in Manila yesterday said the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009-2013 provides for $9.8 million in lending to build essential public infrastructure and attract private investment.
Another $3 million will “be spent on technical assistance to strengthen economic and financial management, enhance institutional effectiveness, boost private sector growth, and support the implementation of a climate change adaptation action plan.”The statement said that this is the first time the ADB and Palau have entered into a CPS.Palau joined the ADB in 2003.”This important new partnership will support Palau’s efforts to create enabling conditions for investment and growth, and to protect its unique environment from adverse climate change impacts,” said S. Hafeez Rahman, Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department said in a statement.Palau as a small island country is also vulnerable to external shocks, which includes rising food and oil prices in 2008 and global economic crisis.”Creating resilience and greater capacity to respond to external shocks is the central objective of the CPS,” said Anthony Gill, ADB’s Palau Country Specialist in the statement.It added, “Palau is keen to broaden its narrow economic base by establishing it as a sustainable, world class tourism destination.”The CPS was developed in close coordination with the United States and other development partners in line with the goals listed in Palau’s National Master Development Plan and their Medium-Term Development Strategy.
