Macedonia and Albania: Aid Pledges (Hansard, 21 June 1999)

§ Baroness Amos

At the recent donors' conferences for Macedonia and Albania, the international community pledged US$252 million and US$200 million respectively in international assistance.

For Macedonia, this includes a US$50 million IDA credit for emergency recovery and a further US$45 million of adjustment lending, subject to reforms. The IMF has announced a new US$32 million stand-by agreement and has also been exploring further assistance through an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) arrangement which would be dependent on the Government of Macedonia's reform effort. The European Union has released 25 million euro for refugee-related budgetary support.

For Albania, this includes a US$30 million public expenditure support credit and a US$10 million enhancement to an existing structural adjustment credit from the World Bank, an IMF US$14 million enhancement of the existing ESAF, and EU refugee-related budgetary support of 62 million euro.

The British Government have allocated £90 million for humanitarian assistance in the region, much of which has been dispersed in Albania and Macedonia. We have pledged £5 million each for bilateral development assistance to Albania and Macedonia focusing on increasing the capacity of the governments to absorb international assistance and carry out economic and social reform.

Further donors' conferences are expected to be held later in the year to review Albania and Macedonia's needs in the light of conditions following the peace in Kosovo.

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