Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperative Minister Tajul Islam held a meeting with Vice President of South, Central, and West Asia of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Yingming Yang at his secretariat office on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by a six-member delegation led by Vice President Yang.
During the meeting, Minister Tajul Islam said that ADB is a reliable development aid organization for our country. out of the 227 projects currently being implemented by the Local Government Department in the fiscal year 2024-25, 10 projects are being executed with the support of ADB, with a financial allocation totaling Tk 22,355.71 crore. As one of our key financial partners, we hope to continue receiving ADB's support.”
Highlighted the recent natural disasters that have severely affected the country, including Cyclone Remal, which struck the coastal regions, and widespread flooding in the Sylhet Division and other areas LGRD minister said, “The Local Government Engineering Department has incurred losses of about Tk 1600 crore, and the Public Health Engineering Department has faced damages amounting to approximately Tk 400 crore.”
The minister further said that in addition to ongoing projects with ADB, we are also seeking financial assistance from ADB to support coastal and flood-prone areas.
We have proposed to take financial assistance of about $ 11 billion from various international financial institutions We may take that assistance subject to conditions, or we shall cover the loss with our own funds.
Reaffirming ADB’s commitment to support Bangladesh, ADB Vice President Yingming Yang said, “As a social development agency, ADB aims to reduce poverty in Asia and the Pacific through economic growth, environmental sustainability, and regional integration. We are optimistic about Bangladesh’s progress and want to assist in its transition from a developing to a developed country.”
Yang, on his first visit to Bangladesh, expressed ADB's intention to align its future goals and objectives with the Bangladeshi government.
“We look forward to working closely with the Ministry of Local Government to achieve our shared development goals,” he added.
The meeting was also attended by ADB’s Country Director Edimon Ginting, Chief Engineer of the Directorate of Local Government Engineering Dr. Ali Aktar Hossain, Chief Engineer of the Directorate of Public Health Engineering Tushar Mohan Sadhu Khan, along with senior officials from both ADB and the Local Government Department.
