The Asian Development Bank has been urged to sharpen its focus on development priorities of Bangladesh in its next Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2011-15. Stakeholders said at a discussion that prioritization helped improve quality of education, technical education & teachers’ training and power & water supply. Besides it has also speeded up reforms in railway, local governments and public sector management and helped address the issues of food security, climate change and women empowerment. ADB organized the discussion at the TARC auditorium in Chittagong in addition to the ongoing consultations with a cross-section of stakeholders at various locations in the run-up to preparing the new CPS for Bangladesh, an ADB press release stated. Business people, members of civil society, professional groups, women leaders, ethnic minorities, local government leaders and academia took part in the discussion providing valuable feedback and suggestions on future ADB operations in Bangladesh, the release said.
Thevakumar Kandiah, country director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission, and Zahid Hossain, ADB’s Senior Country Specialist, made presentations on the proposed CPS.
The ADB officials said the new CPS was expected to be prepared by mid-2011 and would replace the one for 2006-2010. It will be aligned with the government’s priorities to be reflected in the Sixth Five-Year Plan, which is under preparation. It will also be compatible with ADB’s long-term strategic framework (Strategy 2020) seeking to support inclusive & environmentally sustainable growth; regional cooperation and integration, the release added.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ Feb-03-2011