The meeting this time has been styled 'PRSP Implementation Forum' instead of the previous the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) as the development partners have been saying that their assistance will be based on the PRSP.

Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman will chair the meet.

The government has framed the PRSP, a three-year (2006 to 2009) development strategy, after a series of consultations with the donors, private sector, NGOs and civil society representatives.

An Economic Relations Division (ERD) source said the meeting will discuss the ways to implement the PRSP in next three years. Besides, it will discuss how to align the national budget with the PRSP, cost assessment of implementation of the PRSP, and mechanisms to monitor the progress of its objectives.

The ERD has already asked the ministries to inform it immediately of the reforms that they have already brought about and also of the prospective programmes for the PRSP.

Meanwhile, the Planning Commission has finalised the draft of PRSP, which would be tabled before the Executive Committee on National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting for approval next month.

The draft PRSP could not be finalised by June last year as the growth rate of FY 2003-04 marked a significant rise from 5.52 to 6.3 points.

A Planning Commission source said the fixing of the country's macroeconomic framework on the basis of previous growth rate might also have been the reason for the delay in finalising the draft. The previous draft did not specify how much money would it take to carry out the PRSP.

Besides, Local Consultative Group (LCG), a forum of Bangladesh-based representatives of bilateral and multilateral donors, has made a number of recommendations for reforms in few sectors of the PRSP. The government's working with the LCG recommendations has also contributed to the delay in finalising the PRSP draft.

Sources in the donor community said their assistance for Bangladesh in future will centre on the PRSP.

World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Department for International Development, UK government aid agency, and Japan are preparing a joint Country Assistant Strategy to give assistance to Bangladesh.

ERD sources said the development partners appear hesitant to commit financial assistance to Bangladesh, as they are sceptical whether the commitment made by the present government would be continued if a new government comes to power.