(JUBA) – South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr Marial Dongrin Ater, on Wednesday met with a delegation from the World Bank to discuss enhanced cooperation on development programmes and institutional capacity building in the country.
The World Bank team was led by Maryam Salim, the Country Director for South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, accompanied by Shubham Chaudhuri, Director for Fragility, Conflict and Violence. The meeting was held in Juba and focused on strengthening the strategic partnership between the Bank and the Government of South Sudan.
According to the Ministry of Finance, discussions centred on improving project implementation, expanding financial support and providing technical assistance to build the capacity of government institutions managing development efforts.
The World Bank officials outlined a proposed strategy that seeks to improve collaboration with fragile states, including South Sudan and to better support state level responses to economic shocks driven by conflict, instability and violence.
Minister Dongrin acknowledged the World Bank’s continued commitment to South Sudan’s development and reaffirmed the Government’s readiness to work closely with the institution in implementing key projects across sectors.
The proposed strategy, once finalised, is expected to focus on practical tools for resilience, policy reforms, institutional strengthening and empowering local authorities to take greater ownership of economic management during times of fragility.
South Sudan continues to face the impacts of conflict and underdeveloped institutions AND relies on multilateral partners like the World Bank to support essential reforms, infrastructure development and recovery initiatives aimed at long term economic stability.
No specific funding figures were shared at the meeting, but officials from both sides agreed on the need to maintain active engagement and build a coordinated approach that addresses both immediate recovery and long term development goals.