DFID boss in Dhaka

Mark Lowcock, permanent secretary for the Department for International Development of the UK, arrived in Dhaka yesterday to observe UKaid's contribution to economic growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh.

He will meet senior government officials, partners, beneficiaries, youth leaders and members of the international and business communities to discuss development agenda and the role of UKaid in reducing poverty to help Bangladesh become a middle-income country.

Lowcock, appointed as permanent secretary in June 2011, will also meet female entrepreneurs who have set up businesses and acquired new vocational skills with direct help of UKaid programmes.

This is Lowcock's second visit to Bangladesh. He last toured the country in 2011, the British High Commission in Dhaka said in a statement.

The UK government is the largest bilateral donor of Bangladesh with an aid programme directly helping millions of the poorest people in the country.