World Bank inks deal with Mongolia, provides $22.7m for third phase of a project

ULAANBAATAR: The World Bank announced a new agreement with Mongolia, provides $22.7 million for the third phase of a project supporting the country’s effort to empower rural communities in a more diversified and modern economy.

The Third Sustainable Livelihoods Project (SLP III) will help Mongolia further implement the Integrated Budget Law of 2011 that gave rural communities a greater role in the government-funding process. SLP III also supports local economic development through the “Soum Program” that promotes investments for private sector growth in the more than 300 soums – or local administrative districts – throughout the country.

1. Erdenebat, Mongolia’s Minister of Finance, signed the credit agreement today with Bert Hofman, the World Bank’s Country Director for China, Korea and Mongolia. Since its inception in 2002, the three-phase Sustainable Livelihoods Program has backed efforts by the Mongolian government and the international community to modernize a mostly rural and under-developed economy.

Hofman said, “The adoption of the Integrated Budget Law was a major milestone for empowering rural communities and provides a transparent mechanism for fiscal transfers for local development. With this in place, the SLP III project will build the capacity of local governments and communities to manage local development initiatives.”