BSS, Dhaka :
The World Bank (WB) has pledged strong support for Bangladesh to help achieve middle-income status in seven years, as envisaged in the Vision 2021 of the present government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The World Bank is keen to support Bangladesh in achieving its vision of becoming a middle-income country”, said Vice President for the South Asia Region, Annette Dixon, as she concluded her first visit to Bangladesh since her appointment as the Bank’s Vice President in December 2015.
According to a World Bank’s statement issued on Thursday, the Vice President suggested developing further the physical infrastructure, increasing power and gas supply, reducing climate change impacts and improving business environment, public service delivery and governance.
“Going forward, the World Bank will help Bangladesh to clear bottlenecks that impede faster growth and to connect to regional and global markets”, Dixon said.
She lauded the globally recognised achievement of Bangladesh in poverty reduction and human development and observed that “other countries can learn from Bangladesh’s rich development experience”.
Referring to the World Bank’s approval of more than $1 billion in new financing this fiscal year to improve primary education, child nutrition, and resilience to natural disasters, she said the World Bank would remain committed to working with Bangladesh to reduce poverty and bring prosperity to all people of the country.
“We are on track to deliver a total of nearly $2 billion by the end of June,” she added.
During her 5-day visit, Dixon met with finance minister AMA Muhith, Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman and some senior government officials when she discussed on how the Bank’s support could be best aligned with the country’s priorities.
At the meeting with the finance minister, the World Bank Vice president also assured that all expected support including the budget assistance of $500 million would be continued.
She also met with civil society and private sector leaders and development partners and visited the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Chittagong and a government health facility in Dhaka.
The World Bank is the largest development partner of Bangladesh, committing more than $19 billion in interest-free IDA credits to advance Bangladesh’s development priorities since the country’s independence.
The current IDA portfolio consists of 32 projects, with a total commitment of $7.5 billion. The World Bank Group’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has a portfolio of 35 projects with investment commitments of $668 million.
The World Bank Group’s arm for promoting foreign direct investment, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), has also a portfolio of one active project with a total guarantee amount of $251 million.
The World Bank (WB) has pledged strong support for Bangladesh to help achieve middle-income status in seven years, as envisaged in the Vision 2021 of the present government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“The World Bank is keen to support Bangladesh in achieving its vision of becoming a middle-income country”, said Vice President for the South Asia Region, Annette Dixon, as she concluded her first visit to Bangladesh since her appointment as the Bank’s Vice President in December 2015.
According to a World Bank’s statement issued on Thursday, the Vice President suggested developing further the physical infrastructure, increasing power and gas supply, reducing climate change impacts and improving business environment, public service delivery and governance.
“Going forward, the World Bank will help Bangladesh to clear bottlenecks that impede faster growth and to connect to regional and global markets”, Dixon said.
She lauded the globally recognised achievement of Bangladesh in poverty reduction and human development and observed that “other countries can learn from Bangladesh’s rich development experience”.
Referring to the World Bank’s approval of more than $1 billion in new financing this fiscal year to improve primary education, child nutrition, and resilience to natural disasters, she said the World Bank would remain committed to working with Bangladesh to reduce poverty and bring prosperity to all people of the country.
“We are on track to deliver a total of nearly $2 billion by the end of June,” she added.
During her 5-day visit, Dixon met with finance minister AMA Muhith, Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman and some senior government officials when she discussed on how the Bank’s support could be best aligned with the country’s priorities.
At the meeting with the finance minister, the World Bank Vice president also assured that all expected support including the budget assistance of $500 million would be continued.
She also met with civil society and private sector leaders and development partners and visited the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Chittagong and a government health facility in Dhaka.
The World Bank is the largest development partner of Bangladesh, committing more than $19 billion in interest-free IDA credits to advance Bangladesh’s development priorities since the country’s independence.
The current IDA portfolio consists of 32 projects, with a total commitment of $7.5 billion. The World Bank Group’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has a portfolio of 35 projects with investment commitments of $668 million.
The World Bank Group’s arm for promoting foreign direct investment, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), has also a portfolio of one active project with a total guarantee amount of $251 million.
