DHAKA, December 14, 2015 — World Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Kaushik Basu said creating more higher-skilled jobs was a top priority for Bangladesh and commended the country’s remarkable development progress while meeting the Prime Minister today.
Basu praised Bangladesh’s efforts to create more and better jobs, a prerequisite for reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Since 2003, the country was able to create 14 million higher-value jobs and bring more women into the workforce, which lifted millions of people out of poverty. 75% of the new jobs created were in the manufacturing and service sector.
Basu also added: “But, there is no time for complacency. Bangladesh needs to create 21 million jobs in the next 10 years for the new entrants in the job market. The country needs to address infrastructure bottlenecks, improve business and investment climate and enhance the quality of education and vocational training to create adequate jobs for its youths.”
Basu will meet with senior government officials, including the Finance Minister and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, among others. He also met with the private sector leaders and development partners.
“I am happy to be back in Bangladesh. The resilience of its people, the innovation and progress in this country has been impressive,” said Basu. “Bangladesh has made great strides in promoting financial inclusion, and raising agricultural productivity. Indeed, other countries can learn from Bangladesh’s rich experience of reducing poverty and advancing the development agenda. With the right policies and a few timely actions, it is possible for Bangladesh to emerge as the next Asian Tiger. That today we can think along these terms is testimony to how far Bangladesh has come.”
Basu came to Dhaka at the invitation of the Bangladesh Bank to join the International Workshop on Macro Economic Stability, Private Sector Development and Economic Growth. The Bangladesh Bank and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) jointly organized the workshop.
Since Bangladesh’s independence, the World Bank has been the country’s largest development partner in terms of volume of financing. The International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, currently supports 36 projects, with a total commitment of over $8.4 billion.
