WB to assess impact of key development project in Bangladesh

A World Bank mission will visit Bangladesh next month to assess the results and development impact of the Resilience, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Improvement (RELI) project and review lessons learned from its implementation.

According to a letter sent by World Bank Bangladesh and Bhutan Operations Manager Gayle H Martin to Economic Relations Division (ERD) Additional Secretary Mohammad Ahsan Kibria Siddiqui, the Learning and Results Note Mission for the RELI project will be in Bangladesh from 9 to 16 August.

The mission will evaluate the project's achievements, development impact, and financial and economic efficiency in line with World Bank guidelines. It will also document implementation experiences, successes and best practices, while collecting and verifying project data.

The mission will be led by Samina Yasmin, Task Team Leader and Senior Agriculture Specialist, and will include experts in agriculture, economics, financial management, public procurement, environmental and social development, project evaluation, and resilience analysis. A specialist from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will also join the team.

During the visit, the delegation will hold meetings with the Financial Institutions Division (FID), implementing agencies, and representatives of public and private organisations involved in the project.

Meanwhile, a separate World Bank Governance Global Practice mission will visit Dhaka from 9 to 13 August to review governance, financial management, procurement procedures, and accountability in World Bank-funded projects in Bangladesh.

The governance mission, led by Practice Manager Hisham Ahmed Wali and Senior Operations Officer Aleksandar Kochevski, will meet officials from the Ministry of Finance, project implementation units, and other stakeholders.

Officials at the ERD said the two missions would help strengthen governance, financial discipline, and accountability in development projects while providing an independent assessment of the impact of a major socio-economic programme.

They added that the missions' recommendations are expected to help improve project implementation and enhance the effectiveness of future World Bank-funded programmes.