Maputo, June 18, 2007 - The World Bank, on behalf of development partners, and the Ministry of Education and Culture participated in the public announcement of additional funds provided by the Catalytic Fund of the Fast Track Initiative in the amount of US$79 million for Mozambique. The ceremony took place in the Ministry of Education and Culture with the presence of the Minister of Education and Culture, the deputy Minister of Finance and that of Education and Culture, and development partners.

The FTI initiative is managed by the World Bank and is provided by development partners active in the education sector in Mozambique and has been approved in May 23 in Bonn, Germany.

The funding will be used in the implementation of the country’s Education and Culture Strategic Plan for 2008-09. This initiative has been agreed upon by development partners during the "Education for All" conference held in Dakar in 2000, in which the development partners pledged to support countries committed with the goal of education for all.

For more on the initiative, please see the speech by Michael Baxter in English and Portuguese.