World Bank to give top priority to job creation in Bangladesh

The World Bank is set to give top priority to job creation in its development cooperation with Bangladesh over the next five to seven years. The institution will focus on creating more and better-quality employment opportunities, especially for young people and women, accelerating private-sector growth, and the reforms and financing needed to attract new investment.

Work is under way on the World Bank Group’s new Country Partnership Framework (CPF), with a possible term covering fiscal years 2027 to 2033. Under this strategic framework, three World Bank Group institutions — the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) — will carry out their operations in Bangladesh.

Jean Pesme, the World Bank’s country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, recently shared this information.

He said work on a new partnership framework for Bangladesh has begun. The strategy will set the areas and priorities of World Bank Group cooperation over the next five to seven years, taking into account Bangladesh’s own development goals and the government’s five-year strategic plan.

Describing job creation as the most urgent development priority in Bangladesh, Jean Pesme said there is broad consensus on the matter.

He said about 14 million young people entered Bangladesh’s labour market over the past decade, while only about 8.7 million jobs were created in the same period. Women’s participation in the labour market also faces obstacles: it was 42.8 percent in 2022 and fell to 38.4 percent in 2024.

Considering these realities, the main goal of the new CPF will be job creation. Steps will be taken to carry out the reforms and investment needed to raise private-sector growth and remove the basic obstacles to employment.

Jean Pesme said financing and technical assistance will be concentrated in the areas where World Bank Group support can be most effective. Priorities for the new framework are also being set through discussions with small and medium entrepreneurs, civil society, research institutions, and academics.

The World Bank is particularly seeking views from different quarters on what reforms are needed to increase employment for young people and women.

As part of preparing the new CPF, the World Bank Group has already started consultations. Opinions are being taken from government agencies, the private sector, development partners, researchers, and local communities, alongside an initiative to ensure public participation through an online survey in Bangla and English.

The survey seeks opinions on Bangladesh’s development priorities, the areas of World Bank financing and technical assistance, and the reforms needed to create quality jobs.

An official of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) told the national news agency that Bangladesh will want the new CPF to reflect the current government’s priorities and election pledges. Once the World Bank gives the final draft, the ERD will review it and present the government’s position and views.

Currently, the World Bank has 37 ongoing projects in Bangladesh with assistance worth $11.2 billion. The institution is financing the country’s economic and social development, institutional reforms, infrastructure, and energy sectors.

Meanwhile, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said there are no major differences between Bangladesh and the World Bank on fundamental policy matters. Final issues will be settled through discussion under a joint work plan, he told reporters on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok last month.