Bangladesh has been praised by the World Bank for its exceptional economic development and growth despite pandemics. The international development partner told the government that it would continue to support the country’s economic development.
According to a news statement issued today, Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman met with World Bank Managing Director (Operations) Axel van Trotsenburg and other high-ranking officials on Wednesday at the World Bank’s global headquarters in Washington, DC.
Abdur Rouf Talukder, Senior Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Md Sirazul Islam, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, and Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission were among the Bangladesh delegation members.
In addition to Trotsenburg, John F Gandolfo, Vice President (South Asia Region), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Mohammad Shafiul Alam, Bangladesh’s Alternate Executive Director to the global financial institution, represented the World Bank Group.
During the meeting, Salman emphasized Bangladesh’s remarkable economic growth under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, underlining that the country’s economy was on firm ground.
He emphasized Bangladesh’s economic performance, particularly its 5.24 percent GDP growth despite the pandemic-induced economic slowdown.
Salman recalled the World Bank’s ongoing financial aid to Bangladesh and praised the international lending institution for its contribution.
He also emphasized the importance of reducing procedural delays in the disbursement of World Bank-sanctioned loans for Bangladesh to purchase Covid-19 vaccinations on an emergency basis through bilateral consultations and close involvement.
The Bangladesh group, lead by Adviser Rahman, also met with the IFC’s South Asia Vice President and the World Bank’s acting South Asia Vice President in a separate meeting.
Both sides agreed to step up cooperation in key areas such as Bangladesh’s efforts to improve ease of doing business, BIDA’s institutional capabilities, and skills and human resource development.
