Govt seeks development partners’ financing for achieving SDGs

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has sought financing by development partners for successfully attaining the SDGs.

The minister also asked them not to take away their attention from Bangladesh even after the country becomes a middle-income one.

"Bangladesh will become a mid-income country. But, I request you not to take your attention away from Bangladesh after that," he said.

 Muhith said it while addressing the closing session of the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2018 at Pan Pacific Hotel Sonargaon, says BSS.

"It's certainly not a cent percent beggar country anymore. It's a country which is benefitted from the generosity of the developed countries and Bangladesh is also trying to live up to its image," he added.

He also said Bangladesh is poised to become a developed country in South Asia by 2041.

The senior minister said as Bangladesh would be graduating from the LDC status, the country has already started changing its relationship with the development partners in the last two years.

He said Bangladesh is being assisted by three of its most important development partners --the World Bank, the ADB and Japan.

Muhith said the terms of assistance with all of these three development partners have changed as Bangladesh has already joined the scale up facilities with the World Bank.

"With ADB, we've been a mixed country for quite a few years now and Japan is slowly raising the interest rates and other things," he said.

Local Consultative Group Co-Chair and USAID mission Director in Bangladesh Janina Jaruzelski, Economic Relations Division (ERD) secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam also spoke on the occasion while ERD additional secretary Monowar Ahmed gave the vote of thanks.