Danish assistance to different development programmes in Bangladesh has shrunk but it would not adversely affect the ongoing development programmes here, said the Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh Niels Severin Munk.

He said this while speaking at Face to Face with Women Journalists, a programme organised by Bangladesh Centre for Development Journalism and Communication (BCDJC) in the city yesterday.

Niels Severin Munk said the Danish financial assistance for various development programmes in Bangladesh has been cut to 200 million Danish Kroner from the previous year's allocation of 230 million Kroner.

He dismissed suggestions that Bangladesh being listed as the most corrupt country by the Transparency International has something to do with the reduction in financial allocation to Bangladesh. He, however, said as a development partner, the Danish government would always like to ensure that their money is better used without any hindrance stemmed from corruption.

An aide to the ambassador explaining the reasons for reduction in the allocation said that Denmark did not intend the reduction in aid for any specific reason. The assistance has decreased rather as a part of its global policy to gradually reduce the foreign aid.

The aide also said programmes that are aimed at reducing poverty in Bangladesh would not be affected by the cut.

"We have noticed tremendous improvement in the agriculture sector and areas relating to women empowerment. Remarkable achievements in these two sectors are really praiseworthy," said the ambassador.

The ambassador said DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency)) funded various development programmes including water and sanitation, arsenic mitigation, rehabilitation of women, elimination of violence against women, childcare and human development and empowerment of adolescent girls.