Finance Minister Joćo Serra will sign a US$ 10 million loan accord with the World Bank today in Senegalese capital Dakar. The loan will serve as budget aid for the 2006 fiscal year.

The loan, which is part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Credit (PRSC II) program, comes in the wake of the cooperation accord signed by the Cape Verdean government and the international financial institution for the 2005-2008 period. Last year, the World Bank granted Cape Verde a loan of US$ 15 million within the framework of this accord.

The budget aid program began in 2004, when the government signed a growth and poverty reduction strategy document with a group of partners in development that practice the modality - including the World Bank, the European Union and the Netherlands.

The Minister of Finances and Public Administration will be accompanied during the Dakar meeting by Planning Department director Manuel Pinheiro, Treasury director Rosa Pinheiro, and legal aide Samuel Cosmo. Cape Verde’s ambassador to Washington, José Brito, will attend by way of video conference.

source a senana