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WASHINGTON, April 10, 2018¡ªÅ·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ Group endorsed today the .

¡°This Country Partnership Framework means ¡®business unusual¡¯. It will help Niger move towards increased rural productivity and incomes, improved human capital and social protection and better governance for jobs, service delivery and growth. The different interventions under these three pillars will focus on empowering women and girls and mitigating the risks of conflict and fragility,¡± said Soukeyna Kane, World Bank Country Director for Niger.

In Niger, agriculture and livestock sectors account for more than 80 per cent of the workforce and about 40 per cent of GDP but their productivity levels remain very low. Empowering women and girls will therefore create the conditions for a more productive labor force and smaller, healthier families, improving living conditions especially in rural areas. In addition, sustainable investments that target rural women stand to boost overall productivity and income.

Additional investments in infrastructure, electricity, water supply & sanitation, rural roads and digital infrastructure and services would be addressed as enablers to further enhance agricultural productivity and income.

Concerning the private sector, the International Finance Corporation, a sister organization of the World Bank focused on private sector development, plans to increase its activities in Niger and will continue to focus on micro, small and medium enterprise development, agribusiness, and infrastructure development through Public Private Partnerships.

As for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, member of the World Bank Group promoting foreign direct investment, it will actively seek opportunities to support foreign private sector investment into Niger, and may make use of the International Development Agency-Private Sector Window to help mitigate the uncertainties and risks, real or perceived, to high impact private sector investment.

¡°The CPF will aim to reduce the prevalence of stunted children aged 0-59 months, bring 200 additional MWs of electricity and establish 22 rural weekly markets that benefit from all-season road access,¡± said Siaka Bakayoko, World Bank Country Manager in Niger.

The new Country Partnership Framework succeeds the Country Partnership Strategy (2013-2016), it draws on a comprehensive Systematic Country Diagnostic completed in 2017. The CPF is also aligned with the second Plan for Economic and Social Development (Plan de D¨¦veloppement Economique et Social) prepared by the Government of Niger within the context of its Vision 2035. The CPF will address fragility, conflict and violence risks by supporting Niger¡¯s response to existing crises and by helping to reduce rising tensions.

Moreover, under Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ18, resources available for Niger could be over $1 billion. This represents an unprecedented opportunity to upgrade and expand the scope of the World Bank Group¡¯s assistance to achieve its twin goals of eliminating poverty and fostering shared prosperity in a socially and environmentally sustainable way.