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WB to provide $100m for food security

Staff Correspondent
The World Bank (WB) will increase its support for Bangladesh in facing the challenge of ensuring food security, new WB Vice President for South Asia Isabel Guerrero said yesterday.
"Assistance worth $100 million will be provided for the government's food security programmes for the fiscal year 2008-09,” she told reporters after meeting Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam at the planning ministry.
Earlier, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it would give Bangladesh $170 million in assistance for food security.
The WB high official also hinted at the possibility of doubling the soft loans to Bangladesh. According to sources in the Economic Relations Division, currently the country receives
about $350 million as soft loan from the Bretton Woods institution.
Guerrero, who has replaced Praful C Patel as the WB vice-president for South Asia, wrapped up her firs t visit to Dhaka yesterday.
During her stay, she discussed with advisers and government officials the Bank's programmes here, and how it can help the country offset the effects of rising prices of commodities including oil, food and fertiliser.
“The rise in prices of foods, especially rice, has really hit the poor people here,” Guerrero said. “We remain deeply committed to helping them overcome this urgent challenge."
She observed that the country at present is faced with three major challenges--climate change, impact of worldwide inflation and
SEE PAGE 15 COL 3 food security. The WB would provide assistance in all three areas, she added.
Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said, “The World Bank has assured us of assistance to ensure food security, thereby reducing the budget deficit."
It also pledged aid in tackling the losses resulting from climate change, he added
Guerrero said an international conference titled 'Focus Bangladesh' will beheld inLondon on September 10 this year. It will discuss ways to extend assistance for the country to cope with the impacts of climate change and maintain food security.
She met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed on Saturday and discussed the development priorities including infrastructure, human resources, climate change and governance.