BELGRADE, April 20, 2018 — World Bank Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller and Serbian Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic on Thursday in Washington signed three agreements, two for Reimbursable Advisory Services (RAS) – a form of technical assistance, and one grant.
Under the first agreement, the World Bank will provide technical assistance to the Government of Serbia to improve the performance of power company Elektroprivreda Srbije (JP EPS). This will be done through strengthening corporate governance, risk management and business planning of EPS, which will contribute to improved efficiency of EPS. The technical assistance is part of the broader engagement of the World Bank in Serbia and support to the government’s economic reform and restructuring program.
Under the second agreement, the World Bank will provide technical assistance for Serbia to update its National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment using the tools and methodology developed by the World Bank. The two agreements are in response to Serbia’s request for World Bank expertise.
The grant in the amount of USD 1.35 million to be funded by Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and administered by the World Bank will aim to improve the quality of government’s financial information, which should provide accurate data on assets, debt, revenues and expenditures, and thus contribute to improved management of public funds.
The World Bank’s current portfolio includes investment lending, development policy financing, analytical work, and technical assistance to support Serbia’s reform priorities.
