A special mission of the Inter-American Development Bank flew to El Salvador Wednesday to assess the situation and design the Bank´s response to support government efforts for relief and reconstruction following the severe earthquake that struck the country on Jan. 13.
IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias has been in contact with El Salvador President Francisco Flores and other senior government officials since earthquake struck, and he has already approved a $50,000 emergency assistance grant for immediate disbursement.
The IDB mission, led by senior operations specialist Andrés Marchant, includes experts in Finance, Social Projects, Programming, Infrastructure, Environment, Modernization of the State, and Auditing.
IDB Regional Operations Manager Miguel E. Martínez is expected in El Salvador Thursday to review assistance efforts and confer with government officials and IDB personnel on the ground.
The Bank is expected to shortly convene the meeting of a Consultative Group of donor nations to coordinate the mobilization of international assistance for El Salvador’s recovery.