The World Bank is placing job creation at the centre of its development cooperation strategy with Bangladesh for the next five to seven years, with a particular focus on expanding employment opportunities for young people and women, strengthening the private sector and attracting investment.
To this end, the World Bank Group has started preparing a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) covering fiscal years 2027 to 2033. The framework will outline the priorities and areas of cooperation for the group’s three institutions the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in Bangladesh.
Jean Pesme, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, said the new partnership framework would place particular emphasis on Bangladesh’s development priorities and employment challenges. It will determine the areas of cooperation and investment priorities for the World Bank Group over the next five to seven years.
Pesme said preparations for the new framework had already begun, adding that job creation had emerged as the country’s most pressing development priority, with broad consensus on the issue.
Highlighting the challenges in the labour market, he said around 14 million young people had entered Bangladesh’s labour market over the past decade, while approximately 8.7 million jobs had been created during the same period.
Women’s participation in the labour force has also declined. The female labour force participation rate fell from 42.8 per cent in 2022 to 38.4 per cent in 2024, indicating persistent challenges in ensuring women’s access to employment.
Considering these challenges, the World Bank Group is making employment generation the central objective of its new partnership strategy. The framework will also take Bangladesh’s own development priorities into account, particularly the government’s five-year strategic framework.
As part of the preparation process, the World Bank is consulting a wide range of stakeholders, including private sector representatives, micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, research institutions and academics.
Pesme said the institution would focus on removing fundamental barriers that prevent the private sector from generating employment on a larger scale. Financial and technical assistance would be directed towards areas where the World Bank Group could make the greatest impact.
He added that reforms and investment needed to accelerate private sector growth would receive priority, alongside stronger partnerships with civil society organisations and development partners.
The organisation is also seeking recommendations from different stakeholders on how to create more quality employment opportunities, particularly for young people and women.
The consultation process will involve government agencies, private businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, development partners, researchers, academics and representatives of local communities.
The World Bank has also launched online surveys in both Bangla and English to collect public opinions. The surveys seek feedback on Bangladesh’s key development priorities, areas requiring financial and technical assistance from the institution, and reforms needed to expand quality employment.
A Country Partnership Framework is a multi-year strategic roadmap that defines the World Bank Group’s cooperation with a particular country. It identifies priorities for financing, technical expertise, research and partnerships to support national development objectives.
An Economic Relations Division (ERD) official told the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) that the Bangladesh government wanted the new framework to reflect the current government’s priorities and electoral commitments.
The official said the ERD would review the final draft of the new CPF once submitted by the World Bank and communicate the government’s position and recommendations.
Currently, the World Bank has ongoing assistance worth US$11.20 billion across 37 projects in Bangladesh.
The institution’s financial commitments to Bangladesh stood at US$2.215 billion in 2022, US$2.30 billion in 2023, US$3.376 billion in 2024, US$3.065 billion in 2025 and US$1.62 billion in 2026.
Meanwhile, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladesh and the World Bank had no major differences over fundamental policy issues.
He said the outstanding issues would be finalised through discussions under a joint action plan.
The minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Bangkok last month.
According to ERD data, the World Bank is Bangladesh’s largest multilateral development partner. Its financing supports various areas of the country’s economic and social development, including institutional reforms, infrastructure development and improvements in the energy sector.
