World Bank approves $1.25 billion for Bangladesh

Dhaka: The World Bank discussed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Bangladesh from 2023 to 2027 and approved funding of $1.25 billion in three new projects. The bank said it will provide $500 million to a program called Partners on Agriculture and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience. Another $500 million will come in the form of the first green and climate-resilient development loan, which will help the country transition to green and climate-resilient growth, the lender said in a statement.

According to a news agency report, $250 million has been approved for a project on microenterprise to help transform the microenterprise sector into a more dynamic, less polluting, resource-efficient and climate-resilient development sector. Abdoulaye Sek, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said that this Country Partnership Framework builds on five decades of strong partnership between the World Bank Group and Bangladesh.

Sek said that as Bangladesh aims to become more prosperous, it will need stronger institutions and policies to meet the needs of the upper-middle-income country. This CPF will support the Government’s reform programs to provide jobs and support inclusion and resilience. Bangladesh has been one of the world’s outstanding growth stories, said Martin Holtmann, International Finance Corporation’s country manager for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Additional reforms to foster the growth of a more diverse and competitive private sector will increase exports and create quality jobs.