Accra, March 1, GNA - The World Bank and 15 other Development Partners (DP) on Thursday signed an agreement that would ensure the establishment of a more effective aid partnership between them and the Government of Ghana to achieve the aims of the GPRS II and the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana.

The agreement named: "Ghana's Joint Assistance Strategy (G-JAS)", is the DP response on how they would work with the Government to improve aid delivery, by moving towards a more efficient 'division of labour' and allocation of DP resources.

It is set to recognize the government of Ghana as the owner and leader of the development process, ensure better alignment of DP country strategies and spending plans in relation to the GPRS II priorities and targets, as well as reduce the transaction cost to government.

Mr Mats Karlsson, Country Director, World Bank who signed on behalf of his institution said the agreement was aimed at helping the DP 'do things better and be more responsive to the needs of Ghana as a nation".

"By this we can map out our support for the achievement of GPRS II". "Our goal is to help you accelerate shared growth and make poverty reduction a reality in this country," he told the Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Nana Siriboe Juabeng, who witnessed the signing of the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.

Mr Karlsson said the agreement would help the DP eliminate issues of duplication of resources towards a particular project, as well as help the government build on its own resources especially through the private sector as it strives to attain the middle income status by 2015.

"We are keen to make sure that our monthly donor support is sustained to ensure macro-economic growth," he said, adding that donor support at the moment stood at about 1.3 billion dollars a year.

The G-JAS partners include: the African Development Bank, Canada, Denmark, the Department for International Development (UK), the European Commission, France, Germany, IFAD, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United States of America, United Nations and the World Bank.

The agreement was signed by the various Heads of Missions on behalf of their Embassies and organizations.

Nana Siriboe Juabeng admitted that the new arrangement would help minimize transaction cost with the DP.

"This would allow all our development partners to put their weight behind the GPRS II," he said.

The G-JAS is expected to run for four years, beginning this year 2007 till 2010, in line with the GPRS II cycle, with an extra year to allow the Government of Ghana sufficient time to develop GPRS III.