BUJUMBURA June 25th (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, received in audience on Thursday June 24, 2021 in the Ntare Rushatsi House, in Bujumbura, the vice president of the World Bank (WB) in charge of East and Southern Africa, Mr. Hafez Ghanem.
Exiting the audience, Mr. Hafez Ghanem said that his meeting with the President of Burundi focused on the World Bank’s program in Burundi and how the latter can support Burundi National Development Plan.
He informed that President Ndayishimiye presented his economic development program whose main goal is to create employment for young people and improve the lives of Burundians by developing agriculture and livestock.
They then focused on three main areas. First, they talked about infrastructure. Because, according to Hafez Ghanem, to succeed in creating jobs and transforming the Burundian economy, they must first invest in infrastructure. In that regard, they discussed investing in electricity, the internet and digitization, not to mention roads and transport.
The second component was related to the development of human capital, i.e. investing in education, health, social protection and especially the empowerment of women in order to ensure good nutrition for children and avoid stunted growth.
The third component concerned the macroeconomic management of the country. In that regard, the President of Burundi presented his vision which is, among other things, to ensure good governance, the fight against corruption, the creation of a regulatory framework that encourages investors, the creation of businesses and jobs. Mr. Hafez Ghanem indicated that the World Bank is ready to support all those components.