MANILA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) said on Friday that it will provide technical assistance for the early recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction planning to rebuild the ruined southern Philippine city of Marawi torn by an ongoing war between the government security forces and the extremists.
"The WB, together with the Asian Development Bank, will coordinate financial assistance from the development partners for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City," Mara Warwick, the WB country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, said in a statement.
The WB also vowed to scale up support for peace-building and development in Mindanao as part of the midterm adjustment of its country partnership strategy.
It said the "scaled-up program from the entire Mindanao will focus on supporting the government's program to raise agricultural productivity and improve connectivity from farm to market, boost educations, skills, and employability of the youth, and help build resilient communities."
It said World Bank's support to the conflict-affected southern Philippine region has been significant in recent years, leading to over 682,000 people benefiting from better infrastructure and access to jobs and initiatives that improve literacy.
"Mindanao accounts for 36 percent of all poverty in the Philippines and poverty is highest in area affected by conflict. The WB group fully supports the government's focus on developing lagging regions, including in Marawi and surrounding areas," Warwick said.
Mindanao region in the southern Philippines has a long history of conflict with armed groups, including separatists and criminal groups. The government has been conducting airstrikes in Marawi in a bid to retake the city from jihadists linked to the Islamic State group that overran the city from May 23.
