April 30 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's government said on Thursday that the World Bank's financial support for the country in the context of the coronavirus crisis will reach about 140 million euro ($152.1 million).
Some 90 million euro of the financing will be used to implement a new project for rapid response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), whereas the remaining 50 million euro will go to providing financial aid to employees affected by the crisis, the government said in a statement.
The new project will include measures to strengthen the capacities of the health system, cover health insurance expenses for vulnerable people, as well as provide support to families affected by the coronavirus crisis.
Finance minister Nina Angelovska said in March that the government would borrow almost 600 million euro to ensure budget liquidity and maintain employment during the coronavirus crisis, including 100 million euro from the World Bank.
The World Bank said earlier this week it expects the gross domestic product (GDP) of North Macedonia to decrease by 1.4% - 3.2% in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
($ = 0.9201 euro)