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Grenada to benefit from Libyan assistance to OECS
http://www.caribbeanpressreleases.com/articles/7289/1/Grenada-to-benefit-from-Libyan-assistance-to-OECS/Page1.html
S Coward

 
By S Coward
Published on 12-Aug-10
 
St. George's, Grenada -- Aug. 12, 2010 -- Grenada is to receive about EC$5 million as part of a grant package from Libya to Eastern Caribbean countries.

St. George's, August 12, 2010 (GIS) – Grenada is to receive about EC$5 million as part of a grant package from Libya to Eastern Caribbean countries.

The package, an ongoing effort to strengthen and develop relations between Libya and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, was finalised during a recent visit to the North African country by representatives of OECS nations, including Prime Ministers Denzil Douglas of St. Kitts-Nevis, Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica. Grenada was represented by Foreign Minister Hon. Peter David.

The OECS delegation, which also included the foreign ministers of St. Lucia and Belize, visited Libya following their attended at an African Union summit in Kampala, Uganda.

According to official notes of the discussions between Libya – which also refers to itself as the Great Jamahiriya – and the OECS delegation, a sum of US$10 million will be provided by the Libya Fund for Aid and Development to the regional sub-grouping for "development programs and projects.''

Mr. David said Grenada appreciates the Libyan grant aid, saying it will go "a long way in assisting us in several of the projects we have undertaken.''

Foreign Minister David also attempted further negotiations on seeking Libyan waiver on a US$6 million loan provided to Grenada more than 25 years ago.

He said Libya has agreed to forgiving the Grenada debt, but will have to follow certain parliamentary procedures before formally approving the waiver.

"They have to go the equivalent of their parliament – The People's Jamahiriya – in order to get the agreement of the Jamahiriya for the waiver of the loan," Mr. David said. "The fact is they have agreed on the waiver and all they have to do now is get that mechanism sorted out. It was indicated by the Foreign Minister that it will be done by the end of this year," Mr. David said.

Meanwhile, a Libyan delegation is expected to visit the Caribbean next month to follow up on several agreements, including the proposed establishment of a Libyan Bank for Investment and Trade in St. Kitts; the operationalising of a regional-based Libyan foreign investment company known as Lavico Caribbean Holdings; the opening of a Libyan People's Bureau in St. Lucia; and the setting up of an OECS Embassy in Libya.