Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday
(September 17)a said Bangladesh expects budget support from the World Bank (WB)
within this year.
"We're
expecting budget support from the World Bank within this year and this will be
finalized and then you will know," he said.
The
adviser said this while talking to the newsmen after a WB delegation led by its
Regional Director Mathew A Verghis met him at the Finance Division in
Bangladesh Secretariat.
He
said the WB team has been requested to immediately provide the budget support
to carry out the necessary reforms here.
"Since
World Bank is our largest multilateral development partner, we need special
support in the forms of financial assistance and technical assistance from
them," he added.
The
finance adviser said, "They (WB) have agreed and also positive as well as
open minded. They have also been assured and more detailed discussions will be
held mainly on how to carry out the reforms,"
When
asked whether the government has sought $2 billion afresh from the World Bank,
he said he did not reveal the amount adding that the issue would be finalized
later on.
Dr
Salehuddin said each and every assistance comes up with a set of implementable
conditions and actions. "The reforms will have to be implementable;
otherwise we won't be able to accomplish those while the donors also won't lend
us the support," he added.
He
also said the government has requested the WB so that the reform initiatives
become implementable.
Finance
ministry officials said that World Bank is likely to provide a $1 billion loan
to Bangladesh and the global lender has set four conditions to the Bangladesh
Bank.
The
amount must be used specifically for reforming the country's banking and
financial sectors and strengthening the central bank. In this regard, the World
Bank officials held a meeting recently with Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H
Mansur.
Sources
said $750 million of the loan must be allocated for policy reforms. The central
bank expects to receive this assistance in December.
The
conditions for securing this loan are: establishing a framework for asset
management companies to recover non-performing loans from banks and financial
institutions; formulating policies to determine the actual beneficiaries of
loans; defining the scope of forensic audits for banks and financial
institutions; and creating a separate department within Bangladesh Bank for
regulatory enforcement.