WB may double aid if reform pace sustained
UNB, Dhaka
The World Bank has indicated if the current reform process in Bangladesh is sustained, economic assistance to the country can be doubled-- from around $500 million in the last fiscal to one billion this year.The assurances came when Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman called on World Bank President James D Wolfensohn during the bank's fund meeting in Dubai on Friday, according to an official message received in Dhaka yesterday. The WB president expressed satisfaction at the pace of reforms in Bangladesh and assured adequate financial support for the ongoing reforms. Saifur observed that "reform is extremely useful in stabilising the economy, but it often contributes to social instability by reducing employment". In this regard, the funding agency's management agreed that new investment projects should be undertaken in the country to create new jobs. The finance minister suggested that, in addition to human resource development, further investments are needed in agriculture, rural development, water supply, sanitation and transportation including railways, ports and inland waterways. The World Bank president assured the finance minister that the bank was already working for new investment projects in priority areas suggested by the minister. As the finance minister urged the bank management to expand the operations of the International Finance Corporation in Bangladesh, Wolfensohn directed the IFC officials to undertake review of its operations.
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