Report on the objectives of the rural development programme in Guatemala and project evaluations of the projects recommended to receive economic aid through the agency for international development (role of USA) - stresses the importance of technical cooperation as a pre-requisite to granting credits for agriculture diversification and the improvement of agricultural production, the vocational training of rural workers, the promotion of handicrafts, etc. Map, references and statistical tables.

The objectives of the Second Programmatic Fiscal and Institutional Development Policy Loan Program for Guatemala are: i) maintain fiscal space for priority spending through tax policy and tax administration reforms; ii) improve governance and transparency of public financial management and expenditures; and iii) improve access to finance and deepen financial markets through reforms to the financial legal framework and public debt management. The operation builds on the progress made under the First Fiscal and Institutional Development Policy Loan (DPL) and supports the country's strategic program to strengthen Guatemala's capacity to grow and provide adequate resources to reduce poverty and inequality. Progress on critical reforms is being made, including strengthening tax administration, promoting financial market stability, improving monitoring and evaluation of the country's new conditional cash transfer program, modernizing customs processes, as well as enhancing governance and transparency. The Government has prioritized its development plan on near term steps to mitigate the impact of global crisis, including focusing efforts on expanding its new conditional cash transfer program and creating a task force to monitor the economic situation and take policy actions, as needed, to respond to the crisis. The Government has adjusted its reform program to reflect additional actions and priorities, including reforms to increase access to finance and address financial sector stability, while other actions anticipated by the Government prior to the crisis, particularly implementation of measures to boost tax collections, have been delayed. Guatemala made steady progress on the transparency and financial management in recent years.