C T Online Desk: Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Saturday urged the World Bank to extend more support for mega projects of Bangladesh and to make Dhaka more livable to make the 50-year partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank more memorable.
Kamal also opined that the World Bank could exchange the experiences of other countries towards ensuring the smooth graduation of Bangladesh from the LDCs.
The finance minister made the request when visiting Managing Director (operations) of the Word Bank Axel van Trotsenburg met him at a Dhaka hotel on Saturday, said a Finance Ministry press release.
Terming the World Bank as one of the major development partners in Bangladesh, Kamal thanked the Washington-based lending agency for extending support in the country’s education, health, power, disaster management, and various development projects, especially as budget support during the pandemic.
He also stressed on strong and fruitful participation of the World Bank in Bangladesh’s various socio-economic development initiatives.
In response, the World Bank managing director highly lauded the economic development of Bangladesh over the years, especially the unprecedented successes of the country in poverty alleviation.
He also praised the time-befitting steps of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in facing the pandemic.
The World Bank managing director also reiterated his lending agency’s stance to help Bangladesh reach its target of becoming a higher mid-income country.
During the meeting, they also discussed the draft Country Partnership Framework (CPF) prioritizing turning Bangladesh into a higher mid-income country.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, Finance Division Senior Secretary Fatima Yasmin, ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan, World Bank Vice President for South Asia region Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh Abdoulaye Seck were present, among others, on the occasion.
