The World Bank said it will lend Bangladesh 3 billion US dollar (18 milliarder DKR) over the next four years to support reforms and investment projects, reports the World Bank press review Monday.
“The Bank will help the country expand expertise and assess governance in critical sectors”, it said in a country assistance strategy (CAS) report released late on Saturday.
“The CAS envisages a program of around 3 billion dollar of credits and grants from IDA, the World Banks soft loan window, over 4 years, based on continued good policy and implementation performance”, the document said.
The World Bank has for the first time prepared the Bangladesh CAS for 2006-2009 jointly with the Asian Development Bank, Department for International Development (UK) and Japan, in close collaboration with the Bangladesh government.
The document highlighted political risks in Bangladesh and the serious economic costs of confrontational politics.
World Bank Vice-President for South Asia Praful C. Patel said that “without political tranquility (ro/stabilitet) and addressing the risk of pervasive corruption in Bangladesh, it will be difficult to achieve development goals”.
Bangladeshs Finance Minister M. Saifur Rahman said the assistance, though small for the countrys needs, would still be helpful toward its poverty reduction and development programs.”
Patel noted that Bangladesh had become a good destination for foreign investment.
– The World Bank will also extend support to the government, if necessary, to meet other requirements, including infrastructure, for more foreign investment, he said, adding:
– Bangladeshs progress in some fields is better than many others in this region, and some of those can be role model for others.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
