Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Edimon Ginting stressed the urgency of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return for the future of Bangladesh during a meeting at the PM’s official residence, Ganabhaban. Quoting Ginting, PM’s Deputy Press Secretary K M Shakhawat Moon informed reporters that the ADB congratulated Sheikh Hasina on her re-election for the fourth consecutive term, expressing happiness at the continuous collaboration. Ginting expressed ADB’s readiness to work with Bangladesh, particularly in the energy sector and climate change initiatives. The ADB Country Director also expressed interest in expanding the Climate Rehabilitation Project in Cox’s Bazar, a sentiment Sheikh Hasina endorsed, urging similar projects in hill districts.
Sheikh Hasina emphasized ADB’s vital support for Bangladesh’s development, thanking them for their commitment of $3.6 billion in the previous year. ADB is presently funding 61 projects in seven major sectors of the Bangladesh economy. The Prime Minister urged ADB to address the graduation challenges, prioritizing logistics infrastructure and service delivery. Given climate vulnerabilities, she requested a larger share of ADB’s climate finances and the scaling up of grant and concessional climate finances. Sheikh Hasina thanked ADB for the recent approval of $400 million and suggested early discussions on upcoming budget supports for FY 2023-24 and 2024-25.
She expressed expectations for ADB to continue financing priority sectors, focusing on reducing the digital gap, enhancing trade competitiveness, transferring technologies, generating green energy, promoting climate-resilient agriculture, diversifying exports, developing smart cities, and enhancing skills. Considering the global economic impacts of the underlying war situation, Sheikh Hasina anticipated additional financial support, urging ADB to keep countercyclical and policy-based lending measures in its pipeline. Ambassador at Large M Ziauddin and Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present at the meeting.
ADB, a reliable development partner since 1973, has committed $32 billion to Bangladesh until December 2023, comprising loans of $31.4 billion and grants of $571.2 million, with total disbursements of $23.2 billion over the same period.
