Conformed Copy - C2370 - Natural Resources Management Project - Agreement

Page 1 CONFORMED COPY AGREEMENT RELATED TO CREDIT NUMBER 2370 MLI Agreement for the Administration of Certain Funds to be made available by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway in Conjunction with the Natural Resources Management Project in REPUBLIC OF MALI Dated December 2, 1993 AGREEMENT RELATED TO CREDIT NUMBER 2370 MLI AGREEMENT AGREEMENT, dated December 2, 1993, between the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway (Norway) and the INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (the Association) to provide for the administration by the Association of certain funds to be made available by Norway to the Republic of Mali (Mali). WHEREAS (A) the Agreement, dated October 2, 1986, among Norway, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Association provides the framework for cooperation in the financing of development projects by the parties thereto; (B) Norway wishes to make available to Mali a grant in the amount of thirty million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 30,000,000) (the Grant) to assist Mali in financing the goods and services required to carry out part of the project (the Project) which is referred to in the Preamble and described in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Agreement between Mali and the Association (the Norwegian Grant Agreement); and WHEREAS the Association has agreed on the basis, inter alia, of the foregoing to administer the Grant upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth; NOW THEREFORE the parties hereto hereby agree as follows: ARTICLE I Section 1.01. The Association, as Administrator on behalf of Norway, shall enter into such agreement or agreements with Mali, as it may deem appropriate for the Page 2 purpose of assisting in the financing of the Project. Such agreements with Mali shall, inter alia, provide that the proceeds of the Grant may be withdrawn by Mali to finance the reasonable cost of goods and services required for the part of the Project to: (i) provide support to Government services at regional and local levels to help villagers to set up, implement, and monitor community natural resource management plans; and (ii) implement a training and public awareness program and that the amounts to be withdrawn need not be repaid and shall bear no interest or other charges. A copy of each such agreement shall be furnished by the Association to Norway. Section 1.02. The Association, as Administrator on behalf of Norway, shall have the sole responsibility for the supervision of the Project. Section 1.03. The administration and enforcement of any pro-visions of any agreement entered into between Mali and the Association for the purposes of this Agreement shall be handled solely by the Association, and the Association specifically reserves the right, at its discretion and without notice to Norway, to exercise, refrain from exercising or waive any rights under such agreement or to modify any provision thereof, provided, however, that before suspending the right of Mali to make withdrawals of funds under such agreement, the Association shall inform Norway and afford Norway a reasonable opportunity for consultation with the Association. Section 1.04. The Association shall exercise the same care in the discharge of its functions under this Agreement as it exercises with respect to the administration and management of its own affairs and shall have no further responsibility to Norway in respect thereof. ARTICLE II Section 2.01. (a) For the purpose of this Agreement, Norway shall, subject to parliamentary appropriations, deposit an amount of thirty million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 30,000,000) into a general account with Norges Bank in the name of the Association (the "Trust Account"). (b) The said amount shall be deposited upon request in five tranches, including the tranche of five million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 5,000,000) deposited in 1992, over a period of five years as follows: (i) three million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 3,000,000) before March 31, 1994; (ii) five million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 5,000,000) before March 31, 1995; (iii) seven million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 7,000,000) before March 31, 1996; and (iv) ten million Norwegian Kroner (NOK 10,000,000) before March 31, 1997. (c) It is understood that the amount of each such tranche is based on the planned implementation schedule for the Project and may, after consultation between Norway and the Association, be adjusted to reflect actual progress made in Project implementation. (d) The funds in the Trust Account shall be freely exchangeable by the Association with other currencies as may facilitate their administration. Section 2.02. The Association shall disburse from the Trust Account such amounts as from time to time shall be needed to meet the reasonable costs of goods and services financed or to be financed pursuant to Section 1.01 of this Agreement. Such disbursement shall be effected on the basis of withdrawal applications for eligible expenditures submitted by Mali to the Association in accordance with the Association's normal procedures for withdrawal of proceeds of credits made by the Association. Section 2.03. In order to assist in the defrayment of the costs of administration and other expenses incurred by the Association under this Agreement, the Association may invest and reinvest the funds in the Trust Account pending their disbursement to Mali, and may retain for its own account the income from any such investment or reinvestment in an amount equal to two percent (2%) of the amounts deposited by Norway in the Trust Account under this Agreement. The balance of the income from any such investment shall be credited to a separate account and may be used for such purposes as the Association and Norway may agree. The Association will Page 3 exercise the same care in investing the funds in the Trust Account as it does for its own account. ARTICLE III Section 3.01. (a) The Association shall: (i) maintain separate records and accounts in respect of the funds in the Trust Account disbursed by the Association pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement; and (ii) promptly after the end of each fiscal year, furnish to Norway a statement of account on such records and accounts. (b) Promptly after all funds made available under this Agreement have been disbursed from the Trust Account or upon termination of this Agreement, whichever is the earlier, the Association shall cause such accounts and records to be audited and certified by the Association's external auditors and shall furnish the report of such audit by said auditors to Norway. ARTICLE IV Section 4.01. Norway and the Association shall consult from time to time at each other's request on all matters arising out of this Agreement. Section 4.02. The Association shall keep Norway informed of the progress made in the implementation of the Project. To such purpose, the Association shall furnish to Norway all relevant progress performance and assessment reports relating to the Project. ARTICLE V Section 5.01. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first above written and, subject to the provisions of this Article, shall continue in effect until all funds made available under this Agreement have been disbursed from the Trust Account to Mali. Section 5.02. If at any time it appears to either party that the purposes of this Agreement can no longer effectively or appropriately be carried out, the Agreement may be terminated at the initiative of such party by a ninety (90) days notice in writing. Section 5.03. Upon termination of this Agreement, unless the parties agree on another course of action, any agreement or portion thereof entered into by the Association, as Administrator on behalf of Norway, shall be transferred to Norway and any funds or other property of Norway held hereunder by the Association shall be returned to Norway, and the Association's administration shall be considered terminated. Section 5.04. Promptly after all funds made available under this Agreement have been disbursed from the Trust Account or upon termination of this Agreement, whichever is the earlier, the Association shall furnish to Norway a final report and a financial statement on the Trust Account, together with an opinion of the Association's external auditors on such statement. ARTICLE VI Section 6.01. This Agreement may be amended only by written agreement of the parties hereto. Section 6.02. Any notice or request required or permitted to be given or made under this Agreement and any agreement between the parties contemplated by this Agreement shall be in writing. Such notice or request shall be deemed to have been duly given or made when it shall be delivered by hand or by mail, telegram, cable or telex to the party to which it is required or permitted to be given or made at such party's address hereinafter specified or at such other addresses as such party shall have designated by notice to the party giving such notice or making such request. The addresses so specified are: For Norway: The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs P.O. Box 8114, Oslo Dep. 0032 Oslo 1 Norway Page 4 Cable address: Telex: NORAD-N 76548 NORAD-N Oslo For the Association: International Development Association 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 United States of America Cable address: Telex: INDEVAS 197688 (TRT) Washington, D.C. 248423 (RCA) 64145 (WUI) 82987 (FTCC) IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorized thereto, have signed this Agreement. ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY By /s/ Kjell Halvorsen Authorized Representative INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION By /s/ Koji Kashiwaya Acting Vice President Cofinancing and Financial Advisory Services