DHAKA, Feb 28, 2022 (BSS) - Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today
called upon the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide more development
support to help Bangladesh to face the LDC graduation challenges.
Kamal also stressed the need for continuing such strong cooperation between
ADB and the government of Bangladesh in attaining the development goals in
the coming days.
The Finance Minister said this when the executive director of the ADB
Sameer Kumar Khare met him at his secretariat office today, said a Finance
Ministry press release.
Finance Division Senior Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder, Economic Relations
Division (ERD) Secretary Fatima Yasmin, ADB country director Edimon Ginting,
among others, were present on the occasion.
At the outset of the meeting, Kamal thanked the ADB executive director for
extending quick support to Bangladesh in overcoming the adverse impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
He apprised the ADB executive director that Bangladesh, under the dynamic
and farsighted leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been working
relentlessly to become a prosperous and developed country by 2041.
The Finance Minister informed that the government of Bangladesh has been
implementing a stimulus package amounting to $22.08 billion (6.23% of GDP) to
overcome the negative impacts of the pandemic on the country's economy.
Since 1972, the Manila-based lending agency has extended loans worth $19.7
billion to Bangladesh.
He thanked the authorities of the ADB for providing $1 billion budget
support for ensuring quick economic recovery from the pandemic, $100 million
support in the COVID-19 Response Emergency Assistance project in the health
sector, $940 million support for procuring vaccines apart from extending
$9.34 million grant support.
Mentioning that the ADB has been providing support to Bangladesh from the
very beginning of the pandemic to ensure social and economic recovery, Sameer
said that the ADB would always stand beside Bangladesh in the days to come.
The ADB extends support to Bangladesh in various sectors including power,
energy, transport, education, local government, agriculture, water resources,
good governance, financial and private zones.
