Bangladesh, one of the largest recipients of World Bank support since 1972, has the potential of becoming a middle-income country by 2016 according to a recent Bank report. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and the World Bank are working together to improve the lives of the Bangladeshi people and reduce poverty in the country.
The Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Bangladesh (prepared jointly with Japan, the Asian Development Bank and the United Kingdom) focuses on improving the investment climate in the country and empowering the poor--with governance as a cross-cutting theme. It covers the period 2006-2009, envisages a program of approximately US$ 3 billion, and is aligned with the GoB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.
The Bank’s total lending to Bangladesh in FY 2007/08 was US$ 683 million. All World Bank loans to Bangladesh are interest free and its current portfolio in the country includes 22 operations with US$ 2.1 billion in net commitments.
After Bangladesh was hit by two successive floods and the cyclone Sidr in 2007, the World Bank responded by approving emergency support of $ 297 million, of which $ 175 million was quickly disbursed in FY 2007/08.
Overall, the World Bank provided a total of US$ 495 million in budget support in FY 07/08--to assist Bangladesh in coping with the impacts of natural disasters and international food and fuel price increases.
The Bank has also focused on expanding existing social safety net programs, as well as creating new ones, for the rural and urban poor in Bangladesh. Further, to improve the food security situation, the World Bank is supporting improvements in agricultural technologies.
Bangladesh is an IDA (International Development Association) eligible country. Credits from the IDA, the World Bank’s concessionary arm, are interest free, have a 40-year maturity period with a 10-year grace period, and carry a service charge of 0.75 percent.
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