WB assures of Tk 2.10b for BDworkers stuck on Libya borders
FE Report | Wednesday, 16 March 2011
FE Report
The World Bank (WB) would provide Tk 2.10 billion for repatriation and rehabilitation of Bangladeshi workers stranded on Libyan borders, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told newsmen Tuesday. He said the Bank has assured Bangladesh of providing the money as soft loan with 1.0 per cent interest which would have to be repaid in 40 years. The finance minister said WB Country Director in Bangladesh Ellen Goldstein has promised the funding when she met him at the conference room of Economic Relations Division (ERD) on Tuesday. After the meeting, the finance minister told journalists that they would spend the money on plane fares of Libya-returnee workers and to rehabilitate them. He said they would also use the money for covering expenditures that might be needed to send the workers to another country. A delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) met the finance minister the same day. When journalists asked the minister about the meeting with the IMF delegation, he said the delegation recommended strengthening the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country. The delegation, however, expressed reservation about the bank's huge investment in the capital market, the minister informed the journalists. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman, ERD Secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and IMF Resident Representative David Cowen were also present at the meeting with the IMF team.
The World Bank (WB) would provide Tk 2.10 billion for repatriation and rehabilitation of Bangladeshi workers stranded on Libyan borders, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told newsmen Tuesday. He said the Bank has assured Bangladesh of providing the money as soft loan with 1.0 per cent interest which would have to be repaid in 40 years. The finance minister said WB Country Director in Bangladesh Ellen Goldstein has promised the funding when she met him at the conference room of Economic Relations Division (ERD) on Tuesday. After the meeting, the finance minister told journalists that they would spend the money on plane fares of Libya-returnee workers and to rehabilitate them. He said they would also use the money for covering expenditures that might be needed to send the workers to another country. A delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) met the finance minister the same day. When journalists asked the minister about the meeting with the IMF delegation, he said the delegation recommended strengthening the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country. The delegation, however, expressed reservation about the bank's huge investment in the capital market, the minister informed the journalists. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman, ERD Secretary M Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan and IMF Resident Representative David Cowen were also present at the meeting with the IMF team.