WB to help Bangladesh attain middle-income status

Posted by BankInfo on Fri, Feb 27 2015 11:01 am

The World Bank has pledged strong support for Bangladesh to achieve the goal of becoming a middle-income country by the end of this decade.

“For this to happen, Bangladesh needs to do more to narrow the power and transportation gaps, manage urbanisation, reduce climate change impacts, and also improve the business environment and governance,” said Annette Dixon, WB's vice-president for South Asia region.

She said they will help Bangladesh clear bottlenecks that impede faster growth and connect to regional and global markets.

She made the comments after completing her first visit to Bangladesh since her appointment as the vice-president in December last year, according to a statement.

“Bangladesh is recognised globally for making remarkable progress in reducing poverty and advancing human development. Other countries can learn from Bangladesh's rich development experience,” she said.

She said the World Bank remains committed to working with Bangladesh to reduce poverty and bring prosperity to all Bangladeshis. The WB has already approved more than $1 billion in new financing this fiscal year to improve primary education, child nutrition, and resilience to natural disasters.

“We are on track to deliver a total of nearly $2 billion by the end of June,”

During her visit, Dixon met with senior government officials, including the finance minister and Bangladesh Bank governor, and discussed how WB support can be best aligned with the country's priorities.

She also met civil society and private sector leaders and development partners. Dixon visited Chittagong Export Processing Zone and a government health facility in Dhaka.

The WB is the largest development partner of Bangladesh, committing more than $19 billion in interest-free IDA credit 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, International Finance Corporation (IFC), has a portfolio of 35 projects with investment commitments of $668 million.

News:The Daily Star/27-Feb-2015

 

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