World Bank pledges support for job creation, inclusive growth during VP’s Bangladesh visit

World Bank Vice President for South Asia Johannes Zutt has reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh in creating jobs and promoting inclusive economic growth, following the conclusion of his three-day visit to the country on Tuesday.

During the visit, Zutt met senior government leaders, other public officials and representatives of civil society to discuss Bangladesh’s development priorities and the areas where the World Bank Group can extend support.

According to a statement, he held meetings with the Finance and Planning Minister, the Commerce Minister, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance and Planning, and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank.

Zutt said the Bangladesh government is giving high importance to large-scale job creation, along with skills development and investment, and the World Bank Group shares that priority.

He said the institution is increasing its focus on supporting the government’s efforts to create jobs, especially for young people and women.

Highlighting the employment challenge, Zutt said that over the past decade around 14 million young people entered Bangladesh’s labour market, while only 8.7 million jobs were created during the same period.

He said this means nearly half of working-age youth were unable to find employment, while young women continue to face even greater barriers in entering the job market.

Zutt also noted that rising global uncertainty has made it more urgent for Bangladesh to carry out long-pending macroeconomic and financial sector reforms to remove key obstacles to economic growth and job creation.

The World Bank Group said it is working with countries to build economies that turn growth into local employment opportunities by investing in physical and human infrastructure, supporting a business-friendly environment, and helping mobilise private capital.

The World Bank has long been one of Bangladesh’s major development partners. Since the country’s independence, it has committed more than $46 billion in International Development Association financing through grants, interest-free loans and concessional credits to support Bangladesh’s development priorities.