A Loan Agreement was signed today in Kuwait between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whereby the Kuwait Fund will provide a Loan in the Amount of 6.0 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 21 Million), to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to participate in the financing of the Deposit and Development Fund Operations Project. Also, an Agreement (Project Agreement), regarding arrangements for implementation of the Project, was also signed between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Deposit and Development Fund in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which shall undertake the Project.

 

The Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania by His Excellency Sid Ahmed Raiss, Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, and the Project Agreement was signed on behalf of the Deposit and Development Fund by Mr. Jekana Mohammado Yousef, Director-General of the Deposit and Development Fund, while Mr. Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader, the Director-General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, signed both the Loan and Project Agreements on behalf of Kuwait Fund.

 

The Project aims to encourage the implementation of the Small and Medium-sized Economic Projects which contribute in achieving economic and social development in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, by providing funding to these Projects by the Deposit and Development Fund.

The Project consists of providing sub-loans by the Deposit and Development Fund for financing Small and Medium-sized Economic Projects, including new projects, or which include modernization or expansion, or rehabilitation of existing economic projects. The Deposit and Development Fund shall allocate 60% of the Kuwait Fund's Loan to finance Medium-sized Economic Projects, and shall allocate 40% of the Kuwait Fund's Loan to finance Small-sized Economic Projects. This is in addition to providing institutional support to the Deposit and Development Fund for equipment, devices, and training of staff.

The total cost of the Project is 6.0 Million Kuwaiti Dinars, which represents the Kuwait Fund's Loan, whereby the Kuwait Fund's Loan shall cover 100% of the cost of the Project (the Kuwait Fund's Loan in addition to financing part of the costs of implementing the Project in foreign currency, shall also finance part of the costs of implementing the Project in local currency).

                        The Loan shall be for a period of 27 Years, including a grace period of 5 Years, and shall be repaid in 44 semi-annual installments, the first of which will be due on the first date on which interest or other charges will fall due, in accordance with the Loan Agreement, after the expiration of the said grace period. The Loan bears an interest rate of 1.5% per annum, in addition to a rate of 0.5% per annum to meet administrative costs and other expenses incurred in the implementation of the Loan Agreement.

 

This Kuwait Fund's Loan represents the 19^th Loan extended by the Kuwait Fund to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, as the Kuwait Fund has previously extended 18 Loans to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to finance projects in various sectors, with a total amount of approximately 107 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 375 Million). The Kuwait Fund has also provided the Islamic Republic of Mauritania with Nine Grants and Technical Assistances with a total amount of approximately 1.4 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 4.9 Million) allocated for financing of technical and economic feasibility studies for projects in various sectors and institutional support. The Kuwait Fund also administered Four Grants provided by the Government of the State of Kuwait to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, amounting to a total of about 3.9 Million Kuwaiti Dinars (equivalent to about US$ 13.8 Million).