WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 7 -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the government of Norway announced today the establishment of a trust fund to finance technical assistance projects in Eastern and Central Europe, and the Former Soviet Republics. The new agreement was signed by Mr. Rolf Baltzersen, Director General of the Eastern Europe Secretariat at Norway's Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Makarand Dehejia, IFC Vice President for Corporate Business Development. The Kingdom of Norway will provide US$1 million to be used for technical assistance services furnished by Norwegian project sponsors or technical partners, consultants, and suppliers of technology, to stimulate and accelerate economic transformation in Central and Eastern European countries.
"This new fund for Eastern and Central Europe, and the Former Soviet Republics would complement our previous trust fund established through NORAD with IFC in December 1990," said Mr. Baltzersen. " Norway and IFC find ourselves with many common interests in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular, we are interested in projects in Northern and North Western regions of Russia, the Baltics States, and Poland."
Mr. Dehejia said IFC was most grateful for Norway's support for its work in these countries. "IFC is playing a vital role in the region since we have unique expertise in private sector development. In turn, there is a great deal of expertise which Norwegian companies can bring to the region," he said. He added that IFC was pleased to act as a liaison--through IFC's technical assistance programs--between the Norwegian business community and counterpart firms in Central and East Europe, where this new trust fund would be a valuable resource to help promote growth of their private sectors.
IFC established the Technical Assistance Trust Funds Program in 1988 in an effort to identify viable projects at an early stage of development. The program provides technical assistance and funding to help sponsors prepare projects and design proposals that meet criteria of prospective investors. Since its inception, the program has supported more than 125 technical assistance projects in a broad range of sectors, including textiles, food processing, tourism, automotive, telecommunications, manufacturing, mining, natural resources, fisheries, publishing, environment, and agribusiness. It also supports some of IFC's privatization and advisory services, and capital markets activities, aimed at strengthening private sector institutions.
The program supports projects in Asia, Central Europe and the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Its current participating donors are Australia, Canada, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the European community, and the United States of America. The trust funds are supplemented by the United Nations Development Programme's Investment Feasibility Study Facility.
IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and the largest source of direct project financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
