Dhaka calls for increased, unconditional grants from WB for LDCs
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Bangladesh has called for increased and unconditional grants from the international financial institutions, particularly from the World Bank (WB), to assist the least developed countries (LDCs) in achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs).
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations (UN) Ismat Jahan said this when she was making a statement, on behalf of the 49 LDCs, in a preparatory meeting for the follow-up international conference on financing for development, held on March 10-11 at the UN headquarters in New York, reports UNB.
According to a message received in the city Friday, the follow-up conference will take place in Qatar, Doha from November 29 to December 2 this year.
The preparatory session was focused on the governance of the international financial institutions and external debt.
Ambassador Jahan expressed deep concern that during the last few years, the net flow of resources from the WB and International Monetary Fund (IMF) had become negative.
The figure reached negative by $25 billion in the year 2006.
She added that the developing countries had been heavily engaged in self-insurance by accumulating huge foreign currency reserves.
The envoy said that while these reserves were not yielding much benefit, developing countries were borrowing at a very high interest rate to finance their own development.
She called upon the international community to create a system, which would allow the LDCs to borrow from international creditors, at zero interest mark-up, against their own reserves.
Jahan also stressed the need for ensuring good governance in the international financial institutions.
She expressed concern that the LDCs were seriously under-represented in the Bretton Woods Institutions (WB and IMF).
She called for a fundamental reform in the voting system and accountability structure of these institutions.
She invited the IMF to undertake surveillance over all economies, in particular over the systemically important countries, which were issuing major reserve currencies.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations (UN) Ismat Jahan said this when she was making a statement, on behalf of the 49 LDCs, in a preparatory meeting for the follow-up international conference on financing for development, held on March 10-11 at the UN headquarters in New York, reports UNB.
According to a message received in the city Friday, the follow-up conference will take place in Qatar, Doha from November 29 to December 2 this year.
The preparatory session was focused on the governance of the international financial institutions and external debt.
Ambassador Jahan expressed deep concern that during the last few years, the net flow of resources from the WB and International Monetary Fund (IMF) had become negative.
The figure reached negative by $25 billion in the year 2006.
She added that the developing countries had been heavily engaged in self-insurance by accumulating huge foreign currency reserves.
The envoy said that while these reserves were not yielding much benefit, developing countries were borrowing at a very high interest rate to finance their own development.
She called upon the international community to create a system, which would allow the LDCs to borrow from international creditors, at zero interest mark-up, against their own reserves.
Jahan also stressed the need for ensuring good governance in the international financial institutions.
She expressed concern that the LDCs were seriously under-represented in the Bretton Woods Institutions (WB and IMF).
She called for a fundamental reform in the voting system and accountability structure of these institutions.
She invited the IMF to undertake surveillance over all economies, in particular over the systemically important countries, which were issuing major reserve currencies.