UK minister Shahid Malik arrives in city
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
A UK junior minister for international development, Shahid Malik, arrives in Dhaka Wednesday on a two-day visit to discuss the political situation and development projects in Bangladesh, the local DFID office said in a statement.
Malik is the fourth UK minister to visit Bangladesh in the last six months, reports bdnews24.com.
Malik is the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the UK Department for International Development and responsible for his government's development work in South Asia.
Earlier, UK minister for international development Douglas Alexander, foreign affairs minister David Miliband and home minister Jacqui Smith visited Bangladesh.
"The UK firmly believes in the potential of Bangladesh and its people," the statement said.
"That's why we continue to invest in this positive development partnership, which will grow further. Our ambition is to raise UK development spending in Bangladesh to $300 million a year by 2010-11," the statement quoted Shahid Malik as saying.
"He will also talk about progress towards elections, due to be held in December," said the statement of the UK's Department for International Development.
Malik will meet finance adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam to confirm the details of the high-level UK-Bangladesh climate change summit, set to take place later this year in London, it said.
The UK government will host a high-level meeting in September 2008 on behalf of Bangladesh government to address the impact of climate change in Bangladesh and help lay the foundations for an ambitious agreement at Copenhagen in 2009.
The UK is the largest bilateral grant donor to Bangladesh. The total development spending has totalled
Malik is the fourth UK minister to visit Bangladesh in the last six months, reports bdnews24.com.
Malik is the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the UK Department for International Development and responsible for his government's development work in South Asia.
Earlier, UK minister for international development Douglas Alexander, foreign affairs minister David Miliband and home minister Jacqui Smith visited Bangladesh.
"The UK firmly believes in the potential of Bangladesh and its people," the statement said.
"That's why we continue to invest in this positive development partnership, which will grow further. Our ambition is to raise UK development spending in Bangladesh to $300 million a year by 2010-11," the statement quoted Shahid Malik as saying.
"He will also talk about progress towards elections, due to be held in December," said the statement of the UK's Department for International Development.
Malik will meet finance adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam to confirm the details of the high-level UK-Bangladesh climate change summit, set to take place later this year in London, it said.
The UK government will host a high-level meeting in September 2008 on behalf of Bangladesh government to address the impact of climate change in Bangladesh and help lay the foundations for an ambitious agreement at Copenhagen in 2009.
The UK is the largest bilateral grant donor to Bangladesh. The total development spending has totalled