World Bank Country Director Abdoulaye Seck on Tuesday said that the World Bank can mobilise about two billion US dollars in new financing in this fiscal year to support critical reforms, flood response, better air quality and health. Seck spoke about the new assistance when he met the Head of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, reports United News of Bangladesh (UNB).
“We would like to support you as fast as possible and as much as possible,” Seck said, adding that the bank would support the critical financial needs of the country.
He said the extra lending would raise the amount of soft loans and grants the World Bank would be giving to Bangladesh this fiscal year to about 3 billion dollars once the funds from the existing projects are repurposed.
Bangladesh has sought assistance from the World Bank and other international lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to help navigate its economic crisis.
The country is currently passing through multiple challenges at a time and to deal with the economic stress, Bangladesh under the leadership of Yunus has sought funding of $5 billion from the WB, ADB, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AAIB).
