Project Document Signed Between Bangladesh, UNDP

A Project Document of Knowledge for Development Management Phase-II was signed on Thursday between the government of Bangladesh (GoB) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.

The project is of $3.14 million, of which the government will contribute $0.09 million (approximately Tk. 76 lakhs) while the rest $3.05 million (approximately Tk. 25.91 crore) will come as project assistance.

Fatima Yasmin, secretary, ERD and Dr. Nahid Rashid, additional secretary and wing chief (UN), Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Sudipto Mukerjee, resident representative, UNDP Bangladesh, signed the project document on behalf of their respective sides, said a press release today.

The main objectives of this project are to accelerate the capacity of the ERD, especially in relation to its ability to undertake evidence-based decision-making and engage effectively at the international arena for promoting national development interests.

The project also aims to mobilize maximum external economic resources through developing a comprehensive external resource mobilization strategy that would explore alternative sources of funding in addition to an ongoing source and create more sustainable partnership between government agencies and civil society.

Through this project, various activities will be initiated to take an institutional approach for capacity enhancement, to ensure an enabling environment for evidence-based policy-making and to strengthen the capacity of mobilizing maximum amount of external resources, to strengthen the involvement of Non-Resident Bangladeshis with the government in national development and to effectively implement the ongoing activities of South-South and Triangular Co-operation.

The project will play an effective role in accelerating research, knowledge management development, human development and external resource mobilization towards sustainable graduation of Bangladesh from least developed country (LDC) status to a middle-income country.

The project will also play a crucial role in implementing the goals of the 8th Five Year Plan and also the SDGs.