USA DONATES MONEY TO RECOVER FROM BUDGET SHORTFALL

Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/ A 10 million US dollars worth bilateral grant agreement has been signed between USA Ambassador to Mongolia Jonathan S.Addleton and Mongolia Government's member Minister of Finance S.Bayartsogt.
The purpose of this grant donation is to assist the people of Mongolia in recovering from the negative effects of the global financial crisis. Responding to a request from the Government of Mongolia last year, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) secured approval from the U.S. Congress for a 10 million dollar cash transfer to Mongolia's state budget.
This budget support will help the government meet its deficit reduction targets while maintaining essential social safety net transfers to those hardest hit by the economic crisis.
During the signing ceremony run at the Government House, USA Ambassador said he was pleased that the American people could contribute to the coordinated efforts of the Government and other donors to help Mongolia recover from the global financial crisis.
In addition to this 10 million dollar cash transfer, this year the U.S. government is also providing $2 million for technical assistance that addresses the effects of the crisis on Mongolia's banking sector, and another $1 million to guarantee up to $25 million in private sector bank loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises.
This allocation of grant funds brings to $20.5 million the total amount of grant funding that USAID is providing to Mongolia over the past year. This is a threefold increase over annual USAID allocations in recent years.
B.Khuder