SIG thankful to JICA for support
The Solomon Islands Government (SIG) has signed a loan agreement of about SBD190M with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Honiara on Wednesday.
Minister of Finance and Treasury Harry Kuma signed the deal on behalf of the government.
The concessional loan is purposely to assist the work on the implementation of the Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) and COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan of the country.
Following the signing Minister Kuma has expressed gratitude to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for its ongoing support to the country’s development plans, a statement issued by the Prime Minister Press Secretariat said.
Mr. Kuma believes the concessional loan will assist the Government to finance its development objectives which are essential to promote social and economic stabilization and recovery.
He further acknowledged this signing agreement as historical as it is the first of its kind for JICA to offer the Government a loan.
Minister Kuma also acknowledged JICA’s contribution in the implementation of different types of assistance such as Technical Projects and Grant Aid.
Meanwhile, the Resident Representative of JICA, Mr. Motoyuki Uegaki said,
“The COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan is a 2,500,000,000 (2.5 billion) Japanese Yen (about 190m SBD) loan with an interest rate of 0.01% per annum and 15 years repayment period including 4 years grace period.”
The loan is given in the form of co-financing with the COVID-19 Rapid Response Program extended by the Asian Development Bank.
The Government is fully committed to the fight against COVID-19 and the accountable implementation of the ESP in the interest of national safety and wellbeing, economic stability, and empowerment.
