Aid proliferation major challenge, says Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said high degrees of aid proliferation and fragmentation remain a major challenge for many aid recipient countries, including Bangladesh, reports UNB. "Despite several joint initiatives by development partners and partner countries to harmonise development efforts and reduce duplication, as well as related commitments made in the context of the last three High Level Forums (HLF), high degrees of aid proliferation and fragmentation remain a major challenge for many aid recipient countries, including Bangladesh," he said. The Finance Minister was addressing the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, according to message received in city Wednesday. The last three High Level Forums were Rome Declarations-2003; Paris Declaration-2005 and Accra Agenda for action-2008. Ministers and other officials from 150 countries, development partners (DPs), civil society organisations, academia gathered in Busan to discuss ways and means to enhance effective partnership among development partners to reap optimum results from development assistance. Muhith also called upon the international community to work towards rationalisaton of sector support in line with national priorities by exploring options for rationalisation and harmonisation of aid and increased use of programme-based approaches. The Finance Minister said reducing aid fragmentation is a joint responsibility of the government and its development partners. He went on: "To have more (positive) impacts of development and reduce transaction costs, the government of Bangladesh and its development partners will work together to rationalise support to sectors and thematic areas and limit the number of development partners that are active in a sector or thematic areas to an appropriate level, depending on the needs and capacity of the sector." As Sherpa of Asia Pacific region and the lead nation of LIC (Low Income Countries) Group, the Bangladesh delegation is making efforts to reflect the concerns of 19 Asia-Pacific region countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, Pacific Island countries etc) over untied aid and un-conditionality of official development assistance (ODA).