Govt set to ink deal with IDB group to set up CGO

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Doulot Akter Mala
The government is set to ink an agreement with the IDB group to set up a country gateway office (CGO) in Bangladesh to facilitate its efficient operations in the country.
The move aims to ensure mutual cooperation on project implementation, monitoring and clearance of disbursement and repayment of arrears.
The office will also assist in the participatory approach to the implementation of the member country partnership strategies; collect relevant economic information and country programming activities.
The foreign ministry is now scrutinizing a draft agreement to sign a host country agreement to establish Islamic Development Bank (IDB) group country gateway office.
The foreign ministry recently sent the draft agreement to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), banking division, finance division and National Board of Revenue (NBR) for opinion to take further necessary steps on finalising it.
IDB group includes IDB, the Islamic Cooperation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the Islamic Cooperation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the International Islamic Trade Finance Cooperation (ITFC).
The CGO will be headed by a country manager. Its assets, property, income and transaction will be exempted from all taxation and from all customs duties, according to the draft agreement.
Also, securities and any dividend issued or guaranteed by the bank group will be tax free, the agreement said.
The principal functions of the private sector windows (ICD, ICIEC and ITFC) within the country gateway offices concern development of local knowledge by networking with local financial institutions and relevant stakeholders, providing advisory services to clients, marketing of products and services and development of private sector business deals, monitoring of operations and representation on board of invested companies, the draft of the agreement said.
The office will also coordinate the activities of the bank group with other development agencies and represent the bank group in resource mobilization, co-ordination meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops. The country gateway office may also undertake any other activities in consultation with the government.
The CGO will cooperate with the government at all times with a view to preventing any form of abuse of the privileges, immunities and facilities provided by this agreement.
A tribunal of three arbitrators will settle any disputes between the government and the bank group if both the party failed to settle those by negotiations or other mode of settlements. Of the three arbitrators, one of them will be appointed by the government, another by the bank group and next one, the chairman of the tribunal would be appointed by first two arbitrators.
The draft agreement also said the CGO shall be inviolable and shall be under the control and authority of the bank group.
"Public authorities of the state shall not enter the CGO to perform any duties therein without the consent of the CGO or the country manager," the draft said.
Officials said the draft is under review of different relevant government departments. All of the opinions will be considered before signing the agreement.
On tax exemption plea, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Dr. Nasiruddin Ahmed said the NBR may consider the issue after reviewing the requests.
Another senior tax official said the draft agreement incorporated a wide range of tax exemption which is unlikely to be agreed by the board.
It may consider tax exemption on some selected sectors of the agreement after reviewing the draft.