Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mohammad Tajul Islam said Bangladesh is in the best position among Asian countries in terms of debt.
He made the comment while speaking to reporters after a meeting with a delegation led by the World Bank's country director, Mercy Miyang Tembon, at the ministry's own office on Tuesday afternoon.
"We have the lowest debt among Asian countries. We never failed to repay the loan. That is why the World Bank wants to lend more to our country. We will take funding in areas where investment will result in economic growth. We will understand and take the loan. The minister also mentioned that Sheikh Hasina's government is accepting foreign investments after a thorough analysis,” he said.
He said that the World Bank is in fact a financial institution. The overall situation in Bangladesh is very stable. In this regard, they have mentioned today that Bangladesh is no longer a bottomless basket. Bangladesh is now moving forward as an emerging strong country. At present the economic condition of Bangladesh is much better.
“If you want to know about the meeting with the World Bank delegation. We have discussed in detail about the plan and implementation of rural development in all cities including Dhaka. Besides, sanitation, water supply, rural communication development, bridges, roads were also discussed.
They talked about financing everything possible. In the context of today's meeting, they will send some proposals to their headquarters,” he said.
“They are currently working on a 2.87 billion financing project, the minister said that a 300 million project and another 500 million project have already been approved. They have expressed interest in investing about one hundred billion dollars in various sectors. They have made a lot of positive statements about ongoing projects with their funding,” he said.
The LGRD minister said, "We are very careful about encouraging and accepting investments that will improve the socio-economic condition of our people. The World Bank has more experience than us as it works on various projects around the world. That is why we are working together.”
Asked if the Padma Bridge has been discussed, he said, "We are now waiting for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge. The World Bank itself now acknowledges that Bangladesh has shown its potential to the world by building the Padma Bridge.”
Local government secretary Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury and other senior officials of the ministry were present on the occasion.