The government on Monday signed two agreements worth Tk10.08bn ($129.8m) with Germany on projects and programmes of Financial and Technical Development Cooperation.
Secretary of Economic Relations Division Md Abul Kalam Azad and German Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Albrecht Conze signed the deals on behalf of their respective countries.
The agreements on projects and programmes of Financial and Technical Development Cooperation was implemented by the German Development Cooperation Agency GIZ, KfW Development Bank, and the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR), together with their partners in Bangladesh.
According to a press release by the German Embassy, the agreements have an overall financial volume of approximately Tk10.08bn Taka.
Meanwhile, a loan worth Tk4.68bn ($60.26m) will be provided to promote the Western Grid Network Development Project to transport power to the areas in Bangladesh that do not have proper access to energy.
The grant portion of the funds will mainly be used for programmes and projects in the field of urban governance, social and environmental standards in industry, Overcrowding in prisons, justice reform and corruption prevention, for the health sector, and for projects to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.
Ambassador Conze highlighted the long and successful history of bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Germany at the agreement signing ceremony.
He said: “Bangladesh is able to pave its way out of poverty. The self-declared goal of reaching middle-income status by 2021 is achievable under three conditions: better governance, the use of the untapped potential of the economy and the establishment of an attractive climate for foreign investors.”
The Ambassador expressed concern about the slow pace of implementation of programmes and projects in Bangladesh.
“It is most frustrating for development partners, including Germany, to see important projects not being implemented due to long-term delays in the project approval process. Some projects even needed to be cancelled due to the approval process getting stuck in the administration. Bangladesh should give priority to addressing this deficit,” he urged.