Below is the written statement of HPM on the talk Reflection of 50 years partnership—

It is a pleasure to join you all to mark Bangladesh’s partnership with the World Bank over the last 50 years.
I thank President Malpass for his invitation and hospitality. I am delighted to see a good number of Bangladesh nationals serving the World Bank.
Mr. President,
In 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation under the visionary leadership of my father, our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He embraced nationalism, democracy, socialism and secularism as the fundamental state principles in our Constitution. Following his brutal assassination, it took us 21 long years of democratic struggle to get the nation back on track.
In 2009, our government assumed office again on a pledge to build a ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021. I am grateful to our people for the opportunity to serve them and the country through three consecutive terms. In the last one and a half decade, Bangladesh has gone through significant change, thanks to political stability and sound macro-economic fundamentals.
In 2015, the World Bank classified Bangladesh as a lower-middle income country. In 2021, the UN declared it eligible for graduation from the LDC status for the second time.
We successfully managed the COVID-19 pandemic through an economic stimulus package worth USD 26.9 billion, and free-of-cost mass vaccination. The completion of the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge with our own resources and its inauguration last year is perhaps the best example of our resilience and achievement.
Mr. President,
Bangladesh has today emerged as the world’s 35th largest economy, with a nominal GDP of USD 460 billion. Our economy has been growing at an average rate of 6% in the last one decade. It reached up to 8.15% just before the pandemic. This has led to notable increase in per capita income to the tune of USD 2,824 in 2022.
We have reduced the overall poverty rate to 18.7% in 2022 from 41.5% in 2006. During this time, we have increased our budget allocation for social protection by 40 times, constituting 2.5% of our GDP. Just last year, our government announced the decision to launch a Universal Pension Scheme.
Under my flagship Ashrayan project, we have provided free-of-cost homes to nearly five million people along with income-generating skills and support. In parallel, 99.7% of households have come under electricity coverage, while our power generation capacity has increased eight-times to over 25,000 MW between 2006 and 2022.
I have made affordable and quality healthcare a priority by setting up 18,000 community-level health facilities across the country. Our government remains focused on enhancing inclusive and transformative education, with the Fourth Industrial Revolution in mind. The female participation rate in our labour force is higher compared to those of our regional peers. Our government has recently taken a decision to reflect women’s household work in our national GDP.
Mr. President,
Bangladesh has emerged as a global role-model in disaster management and preparedness. We invested heavily in early warning systems, disaster-resilient infrastructure, and community-based interventions. Bangladesh is also a living laboratory of climate adaptation, featuring a number of nature-based and technological solutions. I invite the World Bank and other development partners to join us in implementing the projects under our Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100.
Our government attaches importance to developing Bangladesh as a regional connectivity, aviation and logistics hub. We have set a target to establish 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which will generate an estimated ten million jobs by 2030. Bangladesh has already established itself as a reliable partner in the global supply chain. We now host more than half of the world’s hundred best green factories.
We have launched our next vision to build a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041. It aims at achieving digitally empowered citizens; faceless government services; a knowledge-based, cashless economy; and a rights-based, just and inclusive society.
Mr. President,
​Bangladesh has offered shelter to the forcibly displaced Rohingya from Myanmar over the last four decades. Their number has reached 1.2 million since their expulsion following mass atrocity crimes in August 2017. We have been working with the UN and other international agencies to secure their safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation to Myanmar, but not a single person has returned till to-date. The situation is getting increasingly difficult for us, with growing security implications for the wider region.
I thank the World Bank for joining us in our humanitarian endeavor and for the USD 590 million grant for the Rohingya and their impacted communities.
Mr. President,
The World Bank has been consistently supporting us as a leading development partner. The World Bank contributes nearly 32% of the current foreign assistance for Bangladesh under the ongoing IDA programmes. Additionally, IFC and MIGA have also been supporting our private sectors.
Before I conclude, I would like to make five specific suggestions in consideration of our upcoming development imperatives:
First, the ongoing global multiple crises, caused by the pandemic, armed conflicts and climate emergency, have put most developing economies under serious stress. Some of our development partners have chosen to increase their lending costs and interest rates, which detract from their core mandate. I call upon the World Bank and other development partners to find viable alternatives so that our economies can cope better with the emerging challenges.
Second, Bangladesh is preparing for smooth and sustainable graduation from the UN LDC status in 2026. I request the World Bank to support our human capital and institutional capacity development programmes for a smooth transition. The critical IDA window needs to be preserved and continued.
Third, Bangladesh has aligned UN SDGs with its national aspiration to become an upper middle-income country by 2031. There is an urgent expectation that the World Bank and other development partners deliver increased, concessional and innovative financing for SDG implementation.
Fourth, Bangladesh hopes that the World Bank’s enhanced engagement in climate action would help address the wide gaps in financing under the Paris Agreement. We would stress the importance of equal distribution of financing between climate mitigation and adaptation.
Fifth, Bangladesh will continue to invest in infrastructure and logistics for realizing our vision to become a high-income economy by 2041. I would expect the World Bank to engage in both our physical and social mega-projects in the coming years.
Mr. President,
Distinguished guests,
Bangladesh will continue to move forward undeterred. My presence here signals that we maintain our trust in the World Bank. Our success in the next two decades would depend on our collective ability and efforts to overcome the emerging challenges in a just and sustainable manner. We must remain united towards making millions of our people still lagging behind live a happy life in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s ‘Sonar Bangla’.