Official Development Assistance (ODA), in the form of loans, grants and technical assistance from multilateral and bilateral sources, continued to be a critical component of the financing plan for projects and programmes within the Government's Public Sector Investment Programme. ODA supported the development objectives of the Government through a portfolio of projects and programmes currently estimated at US$1.5 billion ($93.9 billion)¹. Loans represented approximately 70.0 per cent of the portfolio.

During the year, Government's fiscal constraints limited its capacity to take advantage of available loans from Multilateral Financial Institutions². The Government however, accessed loans totalling US$105.0 million ($6.6 billion), at highly concessionary rates through Bilateral Cooperation programmes with Belgium and China. These loans were for improvements to the transportation system in Kingston and St. Andrew, the construction of a stadium in Trelawny, and the rehabilitation of water supply systems island-wide. Grant funds were also provided for, inter alia, the continued reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Ivan and the construction of a sports complex in Sligoville, St. Catherine.

New country strategies were developed to provide the framework for the cooperation programmes between the Government and several of its International Development Partners (IDPs) for the next three to five years:

• the Country Assistance Plan (2005-2008) of the Department for International Development (DFID) will focus on the areas of community safety & security and public sector modernization;
• the Sustainable Development Strategy (2005-2009), prepared by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will place emphasis on the areas of education, health, poverty and improved business environment;
• the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), will target early childhood development, inner city and rural development;
• the CAS, for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will focus on a more efficient execution of its current portfolio of projects in the areas of economic infrastructure, the productive and social sectors, as well as security and justice. It will also support private sector development and a small loan facility to provide technical assistance in strategic areas.

In addition, the United Nations agencies engaged in the formulation of a Common Country Assessment to inform the development of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for 2007-2011.

The Government, after extensive consultation, prepared Jamaica's Country Strategy for the Adaptation of the Sugar Industry, 2006-2015 with assistance from the European Union (EU). The EU, in response to a World Trade Organization ruling, agreed to the reform of the sugar regime that will reduce the price paid to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) suppliers by 36.0 per cent by 2009, commencing in 2006 with a 5.0 per cent reduction. The EU has committed to providing financing to assist ACP countries over the 2006 to 2015 transition period. (See chapters on Agriculture and Social Development, Welfare and Culture).

¹ Exchange rate used US$1 : Jamaican Dollar 62.6
² Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), European Union and the Caribbean Development Bank are the main Multilateral Financial Institutions that provide development assistance to the Government.