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.  

Former Chief Economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office Zahid Hussain said on Wednesday (October 04, 2023) that the actual calculation of foreign exchange entering into the country and leaving does not match.He said that the reserves are decreasing due to a deficit in the balance of payments or transaction balance. The net reserves of foreign exchange as per BPM-6 is below $18 billion.Zahid gave this information while speaking at the annual conference of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) held in a city hotel on Wednesday. Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka, Pranay K. Verma, was the chief guest at the event. Read: IMF reviewing reserves, macroeconomic condition ahead of next fund releaseHe pointed out that one of the reasons for the overall macroeconomic instability of the country is external. The major aspect of this external factor is the price of the dollar.The exchange rate of the US dollar was remained below Tk100 in 2021. But in September 2022 it went above Tk100. It is still above Tk110 even though it has decreased a bit now.Zahid complained that the account of how much foreign currency is entering the country and how much currency is going outside does not match with the reserve. Read: Why Bangladesh’s forex reserves dipped to $21.15 billion? Economists cite reasonsHe said that usually this calculation is sometimes positive and sometimes negative. But recently it is seen in case of Bangladesh, this account has been negative for quite some time."This means that something is happening beyond our knowledge,” he said.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Thursday held a meeting with the World Bank regarding the implementation of a sustainable plastic management action plan to prevent plastic pollution in the country. At the same time, discussions were held with Lafarge Holcim regarding the implementation of Geocycle, a modern waste management system. Presided over by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, the meeting was attended, among others, by Additional Secretary (Climate Change) Md Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary (Environment) Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary (Environmental Pollution Control) Md Mizanur Rahman, the World Bank's senior environmental expert Yoon Ju Alison Yee and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Executive Director Syeda Rizwana Hasan. Read: Anti-plastic laws not being implemented: Speakers At the meeting, on behalf of the World Bank, proposals were presented on policies and financing mechanisms for implementing the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan. The meeting also informed that the World Bank is preparing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as part of the implementation of the action plan. Syeda Rizwana Hasan spoke on the draft guidelines of EPR on plastics. Kaushik Mukherjee, head of LafargeHolcim's Geocycle Division, presented the Geocycle waste management approach to control pollution. Kaushik said LafargeHolcim is implementing the method of burning garbage without any residue in a furnace with a temperature of 80°C-2,000°C. The Geocycle process burns 100% of the waste, and because it uses garbage instead of fossil fuels, the process does not produce greenhouse gases, he said. Praising the Geocycle system, Dr Farhina Ahmed said the government will implement it if it is found to be environmentally friendly and feasible after on-site inspections. "The necessary guidelines for the implementation of the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan will be formulated in consultation with all concerned", she added.  

World Bank (WB) new Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser has said the WB will remain beside Bangladesh as a partner in adopting economic policies to overcome the challenges of development. Raiser said this at a meeting with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday night. This is his first visit to Bangladesh after taking over as WB Vice President. Martin Raiser arrived in Dhaka on September 19 on a three-day visit. Raiser praised Bangladesh's economic development in the meeting with the Finance Minister. He also appreciated the timely steps taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to face the crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Read: Martin Raiser World Bank's new VP for S Asia The finance minister said that the WB is one of the development partners of Bangladesh. The organization has provided budget support to various development projects in Bangladesh including education, health, electricity, and disaster management sectors. Kamal also thanked the WB for its support in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic . The Finance Minister emphasized further partnership of the World Bank in various initiatives for the socio-economic development of the country. Raiser called the continuity of Bangladesh's progress an exemplary example for many countries in the world and said that Bangladesh is one of the countries receiving the highest IDA loans. Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, Finance Department Senior Secretary Fatima Yasmin, Economic Relations Department Secretary Sharifa Khan, Financial Institutions Department Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Saleem Ullah, and others were present at the meeting.

The World Bank on Friday approved a loan of $500 million to help Bangladesh improve disaster preparedness against inland flooding in 14 flood-prone districts, benefiting over 1.25 million people. The Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation and Vulnerability Reduction (RIVER) project will help Bangladesh reduce vulnerability to riverine and flash floods by constructing over 500 multipurpose flood shelters, access roads, and climate-resilient community infrastructure, the World Bank said in a release. In normal times, the flood shelters will operate as primary schools and they will be equipped with solar energy systems, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities that cater to the needs of women and vulnerable populations. The project will also help strengthen the capacity of communities and government agencies to prepare and respond to floods and undertake behavioural change interventions. Also read: UN announces $5 million more flash flood relief for Bangladesh Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said that the heart-wrenching flood situation in Sylhet region is a stark reminder of the increasing risks of climate change to development -- more frequent, unpredictable and intense natural disasters. “Building on our five-decade long partnership of improving disaster risk management in the coastal region, this project will help Bangladesh improve disaster preparedness in the non-coastal flood-prone areas. It will also support the country’s transition from a disaster response to a disaster risk management approach." Every year, floods and riverbank erosion in By affect about one million people but in some years, the numbers can be substantially higher. The project will help save lives and properties in the highly flood-prone districts in the Teesta-Brahmaputra-Jamuna, the Padma, and the Surma-Meghna river basins -- Nilpamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogura, Pabna, Sirajganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, and Sunamganj, Habiganj. Ignacio Urrutia, World Bank team leader for the project, said that Inadequate evacuation facilities for people and their livestock in the highly flood-prone areas not only leads to the loss of lives and livelihoods, but it also hampers the ability to provide adequate relief. Also read: President Hamid calls for stepping up flood relief distribution “This project will contribute to developing evacuation facilities that provide WASH, apply gender-sensitive design, and provide sufficient space for community members and livestock, while at the same time benefiting the community in regular times.” The project will also develop a database on the availability and condition of flood shelters, which will be critical for disaster preparedness and future investment planning. The project will support the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, a long-term plan to achieve a safe, climate-resilient, and prosperous delta, as well as the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan 2021-2025.

The World Bank will provide a grant of Tk 255 crore for food aid to the forcibly displaced Rohingya community from Myanmar staying at Teknaf and Ukhia in Cox's Bazar, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Enamur Rahman on Sunday. The state minister told reporters after the signing ceremony of an agreement between the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief and the World Food Program (WFP) at the ministry. Also read: Rohingya repatriation should be UNHCR's priority: Momen Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Md Kamrul Hasan on behalf of the ministry and Country Director Jane Pearce on behalf of the WFP signed the agreement in presence of other senior officials from the ministry and the WFP. Under the agreement, WFP will provide food aid to Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar through the Safety Net System for the Poorest project, funded by the World Bank, said the state minister. Also read: Take care of Rohingyas like Bangladesh: UNHCR to regional countries The project will provide nutrition education to women, assistance to children under the five in health centers, materials and training in vegetable gardening, plantation and preservation of trees, and mountain slopes, cleaning roads and sewers and carrying out various awareness activities to prevent anti-social activities in the Rohingya camps, he added.

The World Bank has approved a $250 million financing to help Bangladesh strengthen its policies to sustain growth following the pandemic and enhance resilience to future shocks. The Bangladesh First Recovery and Resilience Development Policy Credit — the first in a series of two credits — supports fiscal and financial sector policies to enhance macroeconomic stability and sustain growth. It supports expanding and modernising social protection programmes and energy sector policies to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These actions will help the country build resilience against future shocks, including climate change, the World Bank said in a release. “Since 2020, the World Bank has provided over $3 billion to Bangladesh to support emergency response, vaccination, and other Covid-19 recovery efforts,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. “This credit will further accelerate the government’s endeavours to strengthen its policies and regulatory framework to pave the way for a green, resilient, inclusive recovery and low-carbon growth.” This programme supports the development of the National Tariff Policy, which will help modernise trade taxes. New policies also enable foreign firms, including non-resident digital services companies, such as the search, social media, and cloud services firms, to submit VAT returns and make payments. READ: WB approves $120 mln loan to develop climate smart agriculture, water management Expanded coverage of the national e-Government Procurement (e-GP) system will increase the efficiency of public expenditure. The financing will also help streamline the bank recovery framework. All scheduled banks will prepare recovery plans, which will be updated annually. New legislation will be prepared to strengthen the stability and efficiency of payment and settlement systems, which will also foster digital and mobile financial services, according to the World Bank. The programme also supports adjustments to the interest rates of several public savings instruments, bringing them closer to the market to reduce distortions. This programme will help the government rapidly scale up cash transfer programmes to respond to future shocks and to expand the use of the government-to-person payment platform for cash-based schemes. This will allow the government to respond more quickly to climate-related crises, including floods and cyclones, by identifying and targeting new and existing beneficiaries for emergency assistance. It will also help Bangladesh with its transition to a low-carbon economy. The revised National Building Code will improve energy efficiency in buildings, while the cancellation of 8,451 MW of planned investment in coal-fired power generation projects supports progress towards Bangladesh’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) 2021. “This financing will help Bangladesh harness digital technology to ensure green and resilient growth,” said Bernard Haven, World Bank senior economist and task team leader for the project. “Fiscal and financial sector policies will help sustain growth, while enhancing the coverage and efficiency of social protection programmes will protect the poor and vulnerable during economic shocks and natural disasters.” The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional financing, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period. Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA programme, totalling over $14.5 billion.

The government of Bangladesh and the World Bank have signed a $120 million financing agreement to help improve the irrigated agricultural and fisheries production and increase the incomes of 170,000 poor people vulnerable to climate change.The Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project will improve climate resilience by modernizing flood management, drainage and irrigation infrastructures. The project will help with climate resilient and improved irrigation, flood management and drainage service covering 120,000 hectares of land, which will reduce damage to crops from floods by 60 percent, said the global lending agency on Thursday.“Bangladesh’s success is well-rooted in the agriculture sector. With a large population and scarce arable land, it is a major accomplishment for the country to achieve its level of food production today. But the climate change and increased natural disasters pose threat to food security,” said Dandan Chen, Acting World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. Also read: World Bank keen on investing in rural development: LGRD Minister “The project will help Bangladesh sustain food security by protecting crops and fisheries through better flood management, irrigation and drainage systems with active participation of local communities, and with particular emphasis on regulating the excess water during the monsoon and water deficits in the post-monsoon.”The project has identified 19 Flood management, Irrigation and Drainage schemes in poor and climate change vulnerable areas for rehabilitation. It will also provide training to 100,000 farmers on climate-smart agricultural technologies, diversification of crops, and post-harvest management. The project will also support conservation of indigenous species and improving disease control and management.It will also support rice and fish/shrimp farming through setting up of cold storage facilities and improvement of local markets. This will improve the productivity of fisheries by almost 37 percent, vegetables by 10 percent and rice by 7.5 percent.The agreement was signed by Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Government of Bangladesh and Dandan Chen on behalf of the Government and the World Bank, respectively.The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), and has a 35-year term, including a five-year grace period. Also read: World Bank presents its areas of interest for future projects in Bangladesh Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling $14.8 billion. The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed more than $35 billion in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to the country since its Independence.

The World Bank is keen to work with Bangladesh in areas like energy security, energy efficiency, a regional power market that Dhaka is very interested in, energy exchange and policy reforms. The multilateral financing agency made the proposal when its regional director Guangzhe Chen met State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid at his office in the ministry on Sunday. According to the ministry's press release, the World Bank also expressed its interest to modernise the gas pipeline network and install pre-paid gas metres. Also read: World Bank praises Bangladesh for anti-poverty social schemes Welcoming Guangzhe Chen, Nasrul Hamid said the World Bank might be one of the development partners, but it takes a long time to implement projects. “The World Bank should be careful about the timing,” he said. He mentioned that the energy demand is growing day by day in the country. The World Bank can work with Bangladesh to increase the use of clean energy. He said that Bangladesh has been working to introduce modern technology and digitalisation. “Electric vehicles should be used in a massive way. The World Bank can work on policy reform to achieve energy efficiency”, he said adding Bangladesh needs some efficient consultants where the World Bank can work. At present, 5 projects are being implemented with the finance of the World Bank while discussions are in progress for some more new projects in the country’s power and energy sector. Expansion of transmission lines, improvement in voltage and power factor, increasing energy efficiency and enhancing the stake of clean energy are the areas the World Bank has scope to work on, said a ministry release. Also read: World Bank approves more than $700 in emergency support for Ukraine World Bank operation advisor Gisu Mohadjar, senior operation officer Barbara Weber, programme leader Rajesh Rohatgi and senior energy specialist Mohammad Anis were present during the meeting with the state minister.

The World Bank says it has approved more than $700 in emergency support for Ukraine. Dubbed FREE Ukraine, it includes nearly $500 million in loans and guarantees and $134 million in grants, with Japan promising another $100 million in financing. The aid is meant to help the Ukrainian government pay wages of hospital workers, pensions and other social programs. Bundling the aid into a package is intended to streamline and speed the provision of the funding, the World Bank said in a statement. Also read: World Bank approves $295 million to enhance Bangladesh’s digital economy “The World Bank Group stands with the people of Ukraine and the region,” World Bank President David Malpass said. “This is the first of many steps we are taking to help address the far-reaching human and economic impacts of this crisis.” The World Bank also said it is preparing a $3 billion package of support for Ukraine and the region to help it cope with the flood of displaced people fleeing the fighting. Also read: World Bank announces US$ 93 billion support for poor countries