JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand, Know: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following Law.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The African Development Fund, created in 1972, aims to provide loans on concessional terms to lower-income African countries. Its members are the African Bank and the donor countries, 24 of which are non-regional and two belong to the region, Bostwana and the South African Republic.

The Kingdom of Spain, which has been a founding member of the Fund since 1974, has participated in all its repositions of resources. In the seventh and last replenishment our country participated with 3.969,729.331 pesetas to the ordinary contribution and with 1,200,000,000 pesetas to the special contribution, which represented the 1.56 per 100 of the total replenishment. The VIII replenishment provides for the acquisition of 2,200,000,000 units of account for the period 1999-2001, which represent an increase of 20 per 100 compared to the resources available in the seventh replenishment in real terms and 100 per 100 in nominal terms.

The Spanish participation in the VIII replenishment will be 8.822.158,884 pesetas (eur 53,022.242.76), which represents 2 per 100 of the total replenishment.

The commitment of Spain in the development of the African continent and the defense of its commercial policy interests, advise the participation of our country in this replenishment of resources.

This Law, whose purpose is to authorize such participation, is given under the jurisdiction of the Constitution, which the Constitution attributes exclusively to the State, in accordance with Article 149 ,1.3.a and 13.a, referring to the International relations, the foundations and the coordination of the economy.

Article 1. Contribution to the African Development Fund.

One. The Government is hereby authorised to make a contribution, on behalf of Spain, to the eighth replenishment of the African Development Fund for an amount of 8.822.158,884 pesetas (eur 53,022,242,76), in accordance with the provisions of Resolution F/BG/99/09, adopted by a correspondence vote on 30 June 1999. This Resolution is published as an appendix to this Law.

Two. This contribution shall be borne by the General Budget of the State and under budget implementation 15.23.762B.871 (Development Assistance Fund).

Article 2. Payment of contributions.

One. The payments for each subscription of the contributions shall be denominated in pesetas or euro.

Two. The payment process will begin once this Law is approved. From that moment on, the provisions of the resolution will be in place.

Three. Such payments may be made in cash or in the form of non-marketable and non-interest-bearing promissory notes, or of similar obligations, payable in view and issued at par.

Article 3. Deposit entity.

For the purposes of the contributions authorised, the Bank of Spain shall carry out the functions of the depositary provided for in Article 33 of the Convention of the African Development Fund, both of the assets and the promissory notes necessary for the disbursement of the contributions and the representative titles thereof.

Final disposition first. Faculty of development.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs are hereby authorised to, within the scope of their respective powers, lay down the rules or adopt the measures which are necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this Law.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Law shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore, I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this Law.

Madrid, 13 March 2001.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

JOSÉ MARÍA AZNAR LÓPEZ

ANNEX

Resolution F/BG/99/09 on the 8th overall replenishment of African Development Fund resources

The Board of Governors, Vistos:

(i) The relevant Articles of the Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") establishing the African Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as the "Fund"), in particular Articles 2 (objectives), 4 (resources), 7 (additional subscriptions to Member States), 16 (forms and methods of financing), 19 (technical assistance) and 23 (Board of Governors: powers); (ii) The report of the Board of Directors dated 5 March 1999 (the "report") on the implementation of the Resolution B/BG/90/03, which authorizes the initiation of consultations for the VIII replenishment General Fund resources (VIII replenishment), and in particular the recommendations of the Board of Directors contained in the report;

Whereas:

i) In the report, the Board of Directors, taking into account the development needs of the poorest and least developed African Development Bank (Bank) member countries, has recommended that the Fund should proceed to a substantial replenishment of its resources to finance its concessional lending programmes for a period of three years, starting on 1 January 1999.

(ii) The participating States whose list is reproduced in Annex II and some members have indicated their intention to subscribe to the VIII replenishment of resources in accordance with the terms, modalities and conditions set out in Annex II. This Resolution, taking into account that no compromise can be assumed by those participating States and members while not obtaining all necessary internal consents;

Convinced:

i) Of the need to provide, before the entry into force of the VIII replenishment, in the title of advance subscriptions liable to be used for the purpose of the operational commitment, a fraction of the amount of the subscriptions (ii) The benefit of granting authorisation to the Fund to provide financing in the form of a grant and a loan, in the circumstances referred to in the report and in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Resolution; which the Board of Directors of the Fund will have to determine; (iii) of the advantage of encourage countries that are not yet participating in the Fund as members or as contributors and who have the means to participate in this replenishment, and (iv) of the existing benefits in managing the remnants of the resources obtained in the the 7th replenishment of resources authorised by Resolution F/BG96/04 as an integral part of the VIII general replenishment of resources.

Accepts and ratifies the final report of the consultative meetings of the VIII replenishment; Adopts the conclusions and recommendations set forth in the report, and, accordingly,

Decide the following:

1. Increased Fund resources

a) Authorization. The Fund is authorized to replace its resources for a period of three years, starting on 1 January 1999, for a total of two thousand two hundred million units of account (2,200,000,000 U.C.).

b) Subscription of participating States. The Fund is authorised to accept from each of the participating States listed in Annex I to this Resolution a subscription of the amount indicated for each participating State in the appropriate column of Annex I of this Resolution. Resolution.

c) Subscription and additional contributions.

No provision of this Resolution prevents the Fund, unless otherwise agreed by the Board of Directors, from accepting subscriptions and other resources above the amounts collected in this Resolution.

d) Report on future repositions. No participating State which has made an additional subscription pursuant to paragraph 1 (c) shall not be obliged, in future repositions of the Fund, to increase its proportional share applicable to the Fund, for the sole reason that it has done so in the table of the present replacement.

2. Subscription instruments of the participating States

a) General layout. In order to subscribe in accordance with these provisions, each participating State is asked to deposit a subscription instrument in the Fund by officially confirming its intention to subscribe to the amount indicated in Annex I, expressed in the monetary unit prescribed for the participating State, which is determined in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Resolution.

b) Unreserved subscription. Except as provided for in paragraph (c) of this paragraph, this instrument constitutes an unreserved commitment for the participating State to carry out the subscription in the manner and in accordance with the modalities laid down or provided for in this paragraph. Resolution. With a view to applying this Resolution, this subscription will be considered as a subscription without reservation.

c) Subscription with reservation. By way of exception, if a participating State is unable to enter into an unreserved commitment due to its legislative procedures, the Fund may accept a subscription instrument expressly provided for by the State. the reservation that the payments of all the tranches of their subscription are subordinated to the actual availability of budget credit. This instrument shall also entail a commitment by the participating State to make the necessary efforts to obtain such credit at the rates specified in paragraphs 6.c) and 8.b) of this Resolution, on the payment dates indicated in the paragraph 6, and to notify the Fund of the obtaining of the appropriations corresponding to each tranche of the subscription. In order to apply this Resolution, a subscription of this type will be considered subscription with reservation.

3. Naming of the subscriptions

Subscriptions of participating States shall be denominated in special drawing rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund, in a currency used to determine the value of the SDR or the currency of the participating State if that currency is freely convertible (subscription currency), in the understanding that, for the period from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1998, the economy of the participating State has charged a higher rate of inflation. 10 per 100 as a mean, their contribution shall be fixed in special drawing rights, as determine the Fund.

4. Date of entry into force

The eighth replenishment shall enter into force on the date of deposit by the participating States in the Fund of the instruments of subscription representing a total amount equal to at least 40 per 100 of the subscriptions referred to and listed in Annex I to this Resolution (hereinafter the date of entry into force).

5. Consignment for technical assistance

A global amount that can reach 7.5 per 100 of the total amount of the subscriptions referred to and listed in Annex I to this Resolution shall be entered for technical assistance.

These amounts will be devoted to the granting of technical assistance grants unless, in certain cases, technical assistance can be reimbursable. Funds reserved but not committed for technical assistance under the terms of this subparagraph shall be entered into ordinary operations of the Fund.

6. Paying for subscriptions

a) Payment dates. Unless this Resolution does not provide otherwise, the payments relating to each subscription shall be made in three equal annual disbursements in SDRs, in the currencies used to determine the value of the SDRs or the currencies freely acceptable to the Fund. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 4 and 8 of this Resolution, and subject to a decision against the Management Board, the first of those subscriptions shall be made by 31 January 2000 at the latest or within a period of time. not more than 30 days from the date of entry into force, the first to be defeated by the two mentioned; the second and third subscriptions shall be made by 30 June 2000 and 30 April 2001 respectively.

By way of exception, where a participating State, due to its legislative procedures, is unable to make the payment relating to the first instalment on the date fixed in accordance with the second sentence of the present paragraph, this quota shall be made no later than 30 days after the date of deposit of the subscription instrument.

b) Payment dates for subscriptions provided with reservation. Payments relating to a subscription shall be made within a period of 30 days, after the date on which the subscription is made unreserved, and with respect to the dates of the annual payments specified in this Article. in paragraph (a) of this paragraph. A participating State which has deposited a subscription instrument with a reserve shall inform the Fund of the status of its subscription no later than 30 days after the annual disbursement dates set out in subparagraph (a) of this Article. paragraph.

c) Optional agreements. Any participating State may, by means of a written statement to the Fund, state that it intends to anticipate the date of disbursements, to reduce its number or to make more substantial payments, the fractions of which shall not be less advantageous to the Fund than those specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

d) Means of payment. Payments relating to each subscription shall be made in kind, at the choice of the participating State making the payment by the deposit of non-negotiable and non-interest-bearing notes, or of similar obligations, payable in view of the nominal value.

e) Payment schedule. At the time of deposit of the subscription instrument, each participating State shall indicate to the Fund its proposed disbursements schedule, taking into account the provisions laid down in paragraph 6.

f) Repayment of the promissory notes. Unless otherwise provided, the Fund shall make available the promissory notes or similar obligations of the participating States, in accordance with the existing disbursement system. In respect of a participating State which does not respect one or more requests for disbursement, the Fund may agree with that participating State on a revised schedule of disbursement for the Fund to be at least equivalent.

g) Terms of payment. By way of derogation from the provisions of paragraph 6, a participating State shall not be required to make an disbursement until its subscription is deemed to be available for the operational commitments referred to in paragraph 8 of the Resolution.

7. Early subscriptions

a) Subscription level. In order to avoid any interruption in the capacity of the Fund in its operational commitments, pending the entry into force of the VIII replenishment and in the event of receipt by the Fund of subscription instruments of the participating States whose Total amount shall be at least equal to 15 per 100 of the total amount of the subscriptions listed in Annex I to this Resolution, the Fund may consider as an advance subscription, before the entry into force, a sum equivalent to the first commitment fee for each subscription whose subscription instrument has been deposited by the participating State, unless indicated against the participating State, in its subscription instrument.

b) Uniformity of embodiments. The terms and conditions applicable to subscriptions under this Resolution shall also apply to the advance subscriptions until the date of entry into force, in which these contributions shall be considered as payment of the amounts due from each participating State for subscription.

c) Provisional voting rights. If the VIII replenishment has not entered into force on 31 December 1999, the voting rights conferred by the advance subscriptions shall, in so far as they are accompanied by payments, be allocated to each participating State making a payment. early subscription as if it had been done by way of this Resolution, and each participating State which does not make an advance subscription shall have the possibility to exercise its preferential rights in the subscription under those provisions. conditions specified by the Fund.

d) Using advance subscriptions for operational commitments. Without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs, any participating State may, if it wishes, notify the Fund that its subscription or a departure from it must be considered as an advance subscription, and may be made available to the Fund. of the Fund as regards its capacity for commitment, before reaching the level of advance subscription referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph. As soon as such a level is reached, the provisions laid down in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this paragraph shall apply to any amounts made to the Fund in accordance with the provisions of this Resolution.

8. Ability to commit

a) Subscription without reservation. With regard to the Fund's capacity for commitment under its operational programme for the period of the 8th replenishment, any unreserved subscription shall be divided into three equal tranches and made available for the purposes of commitment. operating as follows:

(i) First tranche: on the date of entry into force, provided that the advance subscriptions may be used for the purposes of operational commitments, before the date of entry into force, in accordance with paragraph 7 of the Resolution.

ii) Second tranche: 31 March 2000 or the date of entry into force, the last one to be defeated from the two dates mentioned, and (iii) Third tranche: 31 May 2001 or the date of entry into force, the last to be defeated by the two dates mentioned.

b) Subscription with reservation. In respect of the operational commitment capacity, the subscriptions provided shall be used to the extent that the reserve is removed. This should be done in instalments of at least one third of the amount of each subscription in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001, respectively.

c) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs:

(i) Any participating State may authorise the use of the tranches of its subscription for the purpose of operational commitment, in accordance with the more favourable schedule for the Fund than that indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

(ii) In order to maintain the balance in the burden-sharing agreed by the participating States, if a participating State has deposited a subscription instrument with a reserve and the subscription of which represents the less than 10 per 100 of the total amount of the subscriptions listed in Annex I of this Resolution, has not transformed into subscription without reservation an amount of its subscription equal to that tranche corresponding to the one specified in the paragraph (b) of this paragraph, shall indicate to the Fund the new amount of the subscription which it shall not reserve and its intentions on how to cover the existing deficit in the framework of its commitments.

(iii) In this case, the Fund Management shall inform the other participating States with due diligence of any notification received on the terms of paragraph (ii) of this paragraph. Each participating State may, within 30 days of this information or consultation, notify in writing to the Fund that the commitment for operational purposes of the second or third tranche of its subscription, as the case may be, shall be reduced in proportion to the the same measure as the subscription provided that has not been transformed into unreserved subscription.

A participating State that does not make such a written notification to the Fund within the aforementioned period shall be deemed to have waived this right.

9. Consultative meeting with the participating States

If, in the course of the VIII replenishment, the delays recorded in the deposit of the subscription instruments, the release of subscription tranches for purposes of commitment, in accordance with the provisions of the Paragraph 8 above, or in the payment of subscriptions, may entail, or may lead to, a suspension of the Fund's lending or technical assistance operations or to prevent it from achieving significantly the objectives of the VIII replenishment, the Fund convene a meeting of the representatives of the participating States to examine the the situation and agree on practical measures to enable the conditions necessary to continue the operations or the significant achievement of these objectives to be achieved.

10. Generalities

a) Attribution of voting rights. In order to determine the proportional share of the total number of votes allocated to the participating States under Article 29 (3) of the Agreement and as a result of the payment being made, each subscription increase of a participating State shall be added to subscriptions already made in accordance with the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of the Agreement, on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December of each year, as from the date of entry into force of the Resolution.

b) Acceptance of participating States. Each participating State subscribes to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this paragraph to the extent that its acceptance is required under Article 29.3 of the Agreement.

c) Choice of administrators. With regard to the application of Article 27.6.b) of the Agreement, the elections to the Management Board shall take place in the year 2001, during the Annual Assemblies of the Board of Governors of the Fund.

d) Maintenance of the value. The rights and obligations of participating States to make additional subscriptions in accordance with this Resolution, as well as those of any other participating State, of the Bank and of the Fund, as regards the additional subscriptions provided for in this Resolution shall be (unless otherwise specified in this Resolution), the same as those of the initial subscriptions of the founding participating States, made in accordance with Article 6 of the Agreement which gave rise to the Fund, except for assessment of the additional subscriptions authorised by this Resolution have been repealed with the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 13 of the Agreement, which shall therefore not apply.

e) Managing the pending VII replenishment subscriptions. On the date of entry into force of the VIII replenishment, any fund, revenue or other type of resource held by the Fund under the title of the 7th replenishment shall be managed in the framework of the VIII replenishment, except in the case of reserve, conditions applicable exclusively to the 7th replenishment.

f) General authorization. The Management Board shall take the necessary or useful measures for the effective implementation of this Resolution in the light of the guidelines and operational directives set out in the report.

11. Exchange rate

As indicated in Annex I, the expected subscriptions of each participant under this Resolution have been fixed on the basis of the monthly average of the daily exchange rates of the respective currencies of these currencies. States in relation to the SDR, established by the International Monetary Fund, for the six-month period from 1 May 1998 to 31 October 1998, including.