United News of Bangladesh

World Bank Vice President Martin Raiser on Tuesday met Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and reiterated the lender’s pledge to support the reform agenda of Bangladesh's interim government. "The World Bank is supporting Bangladesh with a range of urgent reforms to improve transparency and governance, including in tax policy and administration, public procurement, and statistics," Raiser said during the meeting held at the State guest house Jamuna. He said reforms are very important for Bangladesh's democratic transition and for future governments and inclusive growth. World Bank VP for S Asia to meet Dr Yunus, other key advisers "These reforms will help lay the foundation for future inclusive growth by strengthening people’s and businesses confidence in the integrity of Bangladesh’s institutions," said Raiser. He called for the separation of tax administration and tax policy to improve transparency and governance in the revenue system. Raiser said parliament should be the sole authority to decide on tax exemptions, according to the Chief Adviser’s press wing. They discussed issues of mutual interest, including the World Bank's financing of the country's major transparency, governance, and digitalisation reforms, including tax administration. The chief adviser explained his recent creation of a consensus commission to facilitate dialogue with the political parties over the reforms recommended by six major commissions. "Once the political parties have reached consensus over the reforms, they will sign a July Charter, which will be implemented by the interim government and later by the political government," he said. World Bank to provide $30 mln more for Bangladesh’s power transmission network Raiser also stressed the improvement of public procurement and the importance of the independence of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to improve the quality of data, which is essential for sound policymaking. The meeting also discussed the importance of a strong digitisation agenda, including details of the National Identification (NID), with Raiser saying the World Bank can help Dhaka connect with countries that have robust digital identification infrastructure.