WB reasserts its fund commitment for Bangladesh
Friday, 17 October 2008
AT a time when the world is going through its worst financial crisis in a century affecting mostly the developed world, fear and uncertainty about the future has gripped the rest of the world including the developed and the least developed countries. The fear of the least developed countries (LDCs), in particular, is one of being left out. And that fear is not quite unfounded, for in times of adversity they look forward to the bilateral donors from the developed countries and the multilateral donors like the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance to get out of the crisis. But since the developed countries are now busy putting their own houses in order following severe credit crunch in the USA and all the major economies, it naturally leads one to think that concerns for the LDCs would no more be on the priority list of the development partners.
And in this maelstrom of economic turbulence worldwide, would there be any shift in the priorities of the multilateral donors? Will the WB, for example, be able to fulfil its commitments to the LDCs so that they might continue their programmes to address their vital areas of concern like poverty alleviation, developing the social and economic infrastructures, carrying out their ongoing reforms and meeting other lacunae and bottlenecks in their trade and other transactions with the rest of the world? Being a member of the LDCs and fighting hard to graduate its status from an LDC to a middle income country, it is not surprising that such questions are worrying the policymakers in the government as well as the development thinkers in society at large.
It is against such backdrop that the WB, as if to allay such fears, has reasserted its commitment to provide about US$ 1.0 billion to Bangladesh by December this year. Bangladesh will get this aid to support seven projects for this year including the already negotiated ones such as the Budgetary Support Under Global Food Crisis Response Programme, Siddhirganj Peaking Power Project, Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation and Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project. These projects would get the WB approval by the year end.
The news is certainly reassuring for an economically vulnerable nation like Bangladesh, which often finds it hard to make both ends meet even in the time of comparative peace and security. The WB's decision to fulfil its aid commitment for this year under the above noted seven projects was disclosed when the finance adviser met with the multilateral donors' Bangladesh team that reviewed the projects in Washington.
It is certainly a record for the WB so far as its financial support for Bangladesh is concerned. Its financial assistance is normally a routine affair. But in the present situation, it is more than just meeting its commitment for particular projects in a given year. And, one can also infer from this fulfilment of aid commitment for Bangladesh by the WB that its priorities for the LDCs and the developing nations have not apparently much changed even in the face of the scarcity of fund in the advanced economies. What is further heartening for Bangladesh is that the WB team has also reviewed in the same meeting the aid package for this country for the next fiscal amounting US$ 1.3 billion. The move, in other words, means that the multilateral donors like the WB are not going back on their aid commitments for the LDCs like Bangladesh. Under the circumstances, the latest WB move to fulfil its commitment worth US$1.0 billion assistance for various development projects in Bangladesh, particularly during this time of great crisis deserves due commendation. All concerned would like to share the hope that the multilateral donor agency will continue with such assistance for the most vulnerable nations like Bangladesh so that they may not be swept off their feet during this crisis.
And in this maelstrom of economic turbulence worldwide, would there be any shift in the priorities of the multilateral donors? Will the WB, for example, be able to fulfil its commitments to the LDCs so that they might continue their programmes to address their vital areas of concern like poverty alleviation, developing the social and economic infrastructures, carrying out their ongoing reforms and meeting other lacunae and bottlenecks in their trade and other transactions with the rest of the world? Being a member of the LDCs and fighting hard to graduate its status from an LDC to a middle income country, it is not surprising that such questions are worrying the policymakers in the government as well as the development thinkers in society at large.
It is against such backdrop that the WB, as if to allay such fears, has reasserted its commitment to provide about US$ 1.0 billion to Bangladesh by December this year. Bangladesh will get this aid to support seven projects for this year including the already negotiated ones such as the Budgetary Support Under Global Food Crisis Response Programme, Siddhirganj Peaking Power Project, Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation and Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project. These projects would get the WB approval by the year end.
The news is certainly reassuring for an economically vulnerable nation like Bangladesh, which often finds it hard to make both ends meet even in the time of comparative peace and security. The WB's decision to fulfil its aid commitment for this year under the above noted seven projects was disclosed when the finance adviser met with the multilateral donors' Bangladesh team that reviewed the projects in Washington.
It is certainly a record for the WB so far as its financial support for Bangladesh is concerned. Its financial assistance is normally a routine affair. But in the present situation, it is more than just meeting its commitment for particular projects in a given year. And, one can also infer from this fulfilment of aid commitment for Bangladesh by the WB that its priorities for the LDCs and the developing nations have not apparently much changed even in the face of the scarcity of fund in the advanced economies. What is further heartening for Bangladesh is that the WB team has also reviewed in the same meeting the aid package for this country for the next fiscal amounting US$ 1.3 billion. The move, in other words, means that the multilateral donors like the WB are not going back on their aid commitments for the LDCs like Bangladesh. Under the circumstances, the latest WB move to fulfil its commitment worth US$1.0 billion assistance for various development projects in Bangladesh, particularly during this time of great crisis deserves due commendation. All concerned would like to share the hope that the multilateral donor agency will continue with such assistance for the most vulnerable nations like Bangladesh so that they may not be swept off their feet during this crisis.