Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has urged the Asian Development Bank to extend more assistance in the areas of digital inclusion, climate action, regional integration and sustainable financing.
He made the call while addressing the 58th annual meeting of the ADB held in Milan, Italy on Monday amid an increasingly volatile global landscape, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry on Tuesday.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by Salehuddin.
Emphasising the need for broader access to concessional resources and innovative finance to support Bangladesh鈥檚 graduation from the least developed country status from 2026, the finance adviser said that the ADP could play a vital role in promoting cross-border trade, energy connectivity and value chains across the South and Southeast Asia.
Addressing ADB president Masato Kanda, the finance adviser said that Bangladesh was undergoing a historic transformation towards transparency, inclusive growth, and sustainable development under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the Bangladesh interim government.
At this crucial moment with an increasingly volatile global landscape, the ADB鈥檚 role as a trusted development partner is more important than ever 鈥� not just in financing, but in supporting systemic reform and long-term resilience, he added.
The finance adviser narrated the priority areas for collaboration with the ADB.
The areas include digital Inclusion for building digital infrastructure, e-governance and financial inclusion to bridge persistent digital divides, and climate action for more concessional financing for renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture and coastal resilience.
Regional integration for promoting cross-border trade, energy connectivity and value chains across the South and Southeast Asia, and sustainable financing for graduation and debt sustainability are the other areas.
In the afternoon on Monday, the Bangladesh delegation held a meeting with representatives from the United Kingdom鈥檚 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Over the past five decades, the UK government has extended approximately $3.19 billion in assistance to Bangladesh.
