Japan will provide funding by identifying priority sectors for Bangladesh under the LDC: Ambassador programme

Japan will provide funding by identifying priority sectors, focusing on Bangladesh’s transformation into a least developed country and on the developed country goals to be achieved by 2041, said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori he said today (July 10).

Speaking after a meeting with Planning Minister Abdus Salam in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar today (July 10), Ambassador Iwama Kiminori said the need for assistance in a particular sector would be ascertained through talks between the two countries.

He also said that Japan is revising its Country Assistance Plan taking into account Bangladesh’s development plan and needs, adding that it will continue to support Bangladesh in the development and implementation of the 9th Five-Year Plan.

The planning minister said Japan has also been urged to invest in the second phase of the Public Investment Management System, which aims to increase the efficiency of government spending.

Meeting with IMED representatives

Planning Minister Abdus Salam has ordered stronger supervision to eliminate corruption and irregularities in development projects.

He gave these instructions at a meeting with officials of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) and Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) today.

Addressing the officials, the minister also said that everyone should exercise utmost caution to properly spend the hard-earned money of the country’s citizens.

The planning minister also said that feasibility studies were not done properly before taking up the projects. Due to this, it is taking 11 years to implement the three-year project.

At this point, the minister ordered the preparation of a detailed report covering, among other things, a revision of the project, cost increases, etc.