LUANDA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Angola on Monday signed an agreement worth 300 million U.S. dollars to boost the Central African country's economic diversification and create jobs.
The financing agreement for the economic diversification and job creation acceleration project aims to promote increased private investment for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in Angola while ensuring their resilience, said Victoria Kwakwa, vice president of the World Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa.
The project will benefit 12,000 companies and improve the country's overall business environment, she added.
She further explained that the project also focuses on the Lobito corridor, which is crucial for economic diversification as it connects the coastal areas with agricultural zones and neighboring countries. The trade corridor will make the economies of Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania tightly connected upon completion.
The Angolan ministry said that this agreement aligns with the government's strategy for public debt management to reduce costs and extend repayment periods. ■