Reehana Rifat Raza, the newly-appointed regional director for the Asia and Pacific Division at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), visited Bangladesh on her first official visit to the region.
The purpose of the visit was to meet with government counterparts, key development partners, the IFAD team in Bangladesh and to visit ongoing projects in the field, said a press release.
Raza visited activities implemented under IFAD’s Bangladesh portfolio, which is composed of eight ongoing projects with a total investment of $1.25 billion, including IFAD financing of $475 million, making Bangladesh IFAD’s second-largest country program overall.
Since 1978, IFAD has provided about $23.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 518 million people.
“It is a priority for IFAD to invest in a country like Bangladesh that seeks to address development work in key thematic areas such as climate change, youth, gender, food security and nutrition in its current and future development goals,” said Raza. She also commended the robust implementing capacity of national partners, which has been key to the success of the large and complex development portfolio.
In Dhaka, the IFAD delegation met with Amal Krishna Mandal, the additional secretary and wing chief of the Economic Relations Division. She took the opportunity to personally praise the Bangladesh government for pledging $2 million to IFAD’s 2022-2024 replenishment cycle. This is the highest amount that Bangladesh has pledged during its 42-year membership to the fund.
A noted economist with 20 years of experience, Raza joined IFAD in May from the Urban Institute in Washington DC, USA. She previously served as a senior economist at the World Bank and as an adjunct faculty member at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University.
Raza held a meeting with Mercy Tembon. She noted the ongoing partnership in increasing smallholders’ access to markets and boosting agricultural productivity in Bangladesh.
Raza also met with Edimon Ginting, the Asian Development Bank country director, to discuss a new co-financed project that will build the climate resilience of rural communities by improving their capacity to manage small-scale water resources management.
During a visit to Jessore, Raza was joined by IFAD’s Director for the Operational Policy and Results Division Nigel Brett and Lead Portfolio Advisor of the Asia and the Pacific Region Liam Francis Chicca.
The delegation visited IFAD interventions implemented by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) under the Promoting Agricultural Commercialization and Enterprises (PACE) project.