Press Release                                                     November 1, 2001     OAS FUND PROVIDES US$8 MILLION IN GRANT FINANCING  FOR LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS                         WASHINGTON, D.C. –A Special Multilateral Fund of the Organization of American States (OAS) will fund 89 national and regional development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean using $8 million in grants. Today, the Management Board of the OAS' Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD) approved the funding which will benefit the 2002 development efforts of the Organization's member states.  The projects focus on development areas identified as priorities by the member states, and are aimed at building local capacity and facilitating the transfer of knowledge.  Twenty-five percent of the projects approved are in the area of education, twenty percent in social development and twenty percent in science and technology.  The remaining thirty five percent of the projects are divided between the areas of trade and integration, democracy, tourism, sustainable development and the environment and culture.   "We are very pleased that over seventy percent of the projects approved this year were submitted by the smaller and more vulnerable nations (Caribbean, Central American and Andean regions)", stated Ron Scheman, Director General of the IACD.  "The catalytic effect of IACD grants on development in the member states is well documented.  In the four years since its creation, the Special Multilateral Fund has provided approximately US$40 million in grants to over 300 regional and national projects. We plan to further stimulate development in the smaller economies through the use of the Fund."               The OAS established the IACD in November 1999 to promote technical cooperation and training programs necessary to accelerate economic development in the countries of the hemisphere.  Its Special Multilateral Fund comprises the voluntary contributions of the OAS member states.  For further information contact: Ms. Yacire Cutler [email protected]nter-American CommunityUnited Against Terrorism