Visiting UK Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan on Tuesday said that the United Kingdom would continue its cooperation with Bangladesh as they are looking forward to working very closely with the government of Bangladesh.
“The cooperation of the UK with Bangladesh would continue,” he told reporters after meeting Finance Minister AMA Muhith, replying to a question whether there was any change regarding the UK-Bangladesh cooperation after the January 5 election where the ruling Awami League gained absolute majority.
Duncan said the UK is the largest bilateral donor of Bangladesh for the poverty programmes. “We do most of our works in the country through NGOs, but as much as the government does things we like, then we will work more closely with the government.”
The junior UK Minister also hoped that there would be a period of economic and political stability so that the economic growth of the country can increase.
When his attention was drawn about the Bangladesh’s RMG sector, he said that this is a very important area for the Bangladesh economy as the country fetched over US$ 20 billion through exports of RMG products.
“So, it’s very important that the standards in the industry are lifted in order to set a high standard for the sector,” he added.
With the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, Duncan said he was keen to visit the Rana Plaza and meet the representatives of the RMG sector. “I want to make sure that the fantastic success in this area of the economy is now matched by high standards at work for those who made RMG,”
About the UK assisted projects in Bangladesh, he said that their development activities in Bangladesh are doing a lot of good for some of the poorest people of the country.
Revealing the outcomes of the meeting with the Finance Minister, the UK junior minister said they are looking forward to seeing a continued pattern of growth over the next few years.
“Now that you have had elections, we hope that political stability can lead to economic progress and the UK will remain as the largest bilateral donor to Bangladesh and we look forward to working very closely with the government to make sure that we can help the country’s poorest people lift themselves out of poverty,”
Meanwhile, briefing reporters after the meeting, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said that the UK Minister had showed his interest about the country’s RMG sector. He also had apprised the UK Minister that the government is not being able to inspect all the RMG units for lack of manpower.
The Finance Minister, however, lauded the UK’s role for not cutting their development aid budget when their national budget witnessed a cut in recent times.
British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert W Gibson was present at the meeting.
As the largest bilateral grant donor to Bangladesh, the UK government is committed to supporting Bangladesh’s development and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Source: UNB Connect
