By Golam Moin Uddin

DHAKA, Dec 20, 2023 (BSS) - Beginning the journey from a war-torn nation with ravaged infrastructures just after independence, Bangladesh has now poised to become an upper middle income country by 2031 and thus a developed country by 2041 with increased development expenditure day by day.

In this long journey, the national budget size and subsequently the size of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) have increased manifold thanks to a higher revenue mobilization capacity of the government despite various odds.

Tajuddin Ahmed presented the country's first budget as finance minister of the post-independence Bangabandhu government in 1972 where the total outlay was Taka 786 crore with the ADP size at Taka 501 crore.

With the passage of time and riding on successful implementation of policies, the budget size reached Taka 7,61,785 crore in the current FY24 with the ADP size of Taka 2,63,000 crore.

In this long development ride since independence, the contributions of the development partners to Bangladesh were very significant where the World Bank (WB) continued to remain as a major development partner.
 
Just after the War of Liberation, Bangladesh was one of the world's poorest nations. But, today, it is one of the fastest-growing economies. GDP per capita has increased more than twenty-fold from $128 in 1971 to $2,742.4 in 2022.

Bangladesh reduced extreme poverty to 5.0% in 2022 from 9.0% in 2016 (based on the international poverty line of $2.15 a day), which is comparable to Latin America and the Caribbean countries and fares better than the South Asian average.

In the same period, the World Bank has supported Bangladesh in achieving its development vision. Through the International Development Association (IDA), about $40 billion has been committed in either grants or concessional financing credits to Bangladesh; with 57 active projects totaling $16.46 billion in commitments currently underway, Bangladesh has the largest IDA program globally.

The World Bank has also been the largest external funder of Bangladesh, providing over a quarter of all foreign aid in a wide range of interventions across all sectors.

Commenting over this partnership, Planning Minister MA Mannan told BSS that the World Bank has been a major multilateral development partner of Bangladesh since the country's independence.

He said that the Washington-based lending agency has been contributing largely towards the development of Bangladesh over the years.

"Hopefully, they will raise support to us in the coming days,"

Mannan also said Bangladesh is taking loans and grants from many lending agencies like the ADB, JICA, KOICA apart from the World Bank as per its requirements in various sectors.

Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said the World Bank was among the first development partners of Bangladesh.

Since the country's independence, the World Bank has committed about $40 billion in financing in grants, interest-free and concessional credits to Bangladesh to advance the country's economic growth and development aspirations, he added.

"The World Bank remains the country's largest external funder, providing more than a quarter of the total foreign aid the country receives. Currently, with $16.46 Billion commitment in 57 projects, Bangladesh has the World Bank's largest IDA program. Through a robust program of technical, analytical, and financial support, we are helping Bangladesh achieve its vision of upper-middle income status by 2031," he added.

According to the World Bank, it has forged a transformative and impactful partnership with Bangladesh in sectors such as human and social development and the creation of jobs and economic opportunities for the poor, with a strong focus on women's empowerment; in infrastructure, including access to electricity; and in efforts to improve climate resilience and disaster risk management.

To address new and emerging challenges, the World Bank has mobilized fast support; recently, for example, the Bank helped manage and contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh including vaccinations for the eligible population, it said.

The World Bank also played a crucial role in supporting the Bangladesh government in addressing challenges created by the influx of the forcibly displaced Rohingya people who fled from violence in Myanmar since 2017.

Even as the journey continues, the achievements of the partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank since 1972 are remarkable - a monument to the success of development financing and technical assistance at scale over five decades.

The World Bank's Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for FY 23-27, anchored in the government's eighth Five Year Plan and the Long-Term Perspective Plan 2021-2041, supports Bangladesh's goal of achieving upper-middle-income country status by 2031, by helping the country to address key barriers to higher and sustainable growth.

It will help develop a diversified and competitive private sector to create more and better jobs; promote socioeconomic inclusion to expand opportunities for all; and address climate and environmental vulnerabilities. These three outcomes are key priorities for Bangladesh's growth aspirations.

In addition to support provided by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provided another $3 billion to Bangladesh since 1972 to address the country's development challenges in areas such as infrastructure, human capital development, social protection, rural and urban development, and to advance the country's digital agenda.

IFC's work in Bangladesh focuses on improving infrastructure and financial services and supporting the expansion of smaller businesses.

Among many key areas, IFC is working on the country's garment sector, helping facilitate investments, improve construction and fire safety, labor and environmental standards, and establish the conditions for it to grow sustainably.

MIGA's current programs in Bangladesh with total over $1 billion, is supporting the country in areas such as climate, energy, and sustainable infrastructure. In FY2022, for instance, 14.3 million people were provided with new or improved electricity services through power projects.

Bangladesh became a member of the World Bank Group in August of 1972. In November of the same year, the World Bank approved the first project for Bangladesh, a $50 million Emergency Recovery Credit to help the war-torn nation rebuild the transport and communication, agriculture, and industrial sectors, as well as provide support for the construction and power sector.

At the same time, the World Bank reactivated four projects that had been approved before the liberation war. Since then, the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's fund for the poorest countries, has committed over $40 billion in financing in the form of grants, interest-free loans, and concessional credits.