UK pledges support for Bangladesh’s governance reforms

A delegation led by Neil Gandhi, senior governance adviser at the British High Commission in Dhaka met with Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration Affairs Md Ismail Zabihullah on Tuesday.

The delegation apprised the adviser about the UK’s potential support to the Bangladesh, particularly for the Prime Minister’s Office, on how to achieve rapid and visible implementation of government priorities within the framework of the Building State Effectiveness and Accountability (BSEA) programme, said a press release.

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The delegation mentioned that it would be a part of the UK’s ongoing support for public sector reform under the Building State Effectiveness and Accountability (BSEA) programme, which aims to strengthen state institutional capacity to deliver inclusive public services effectively while promoting transparency and accountability.

The adviser expressed gratitude and satisfaction over the British government’s support to Bangladesh mentioning that the United Kingdom has been a trusted development partner of Bangladesh. Two sides also discussed the areas of future collaboration.

During the meeting, Ismail sought support of the UK government in the areas of governance improvement; building a more responsive, evidence-driven, and accountable public administration; job creation along with skills development; entrepreneurship development; women empowerment and enhancing the skills of government officials.

He asked for UK’s supports in implementing citizen-centric initiatives and service simplification processes in line with the BNP’s Election Manifesto.

The delegation expressed the UK’s strong and shared commitment to achieve rapid and visible implementation of government priorities and implement the development agenda.

Other members of the delegation were Daniel Bristow, associate director for Middle East and South Asia at Delivery Associates Inc; Josh Wiseman, associate director for Asia-Pacific at Delivery Associates Inc; Shahnaz Karim, governance adviser at the British High Commission in Dhaka; Kim McQuay, chief strategy and legal adviser at The Asia Foundation; Kazi Faisal bin Seraj, country representative at The Asia Foundation; and Whit Mason, a communications specialist.

Dr Delwar Hossain, director general of the Governance Innovation Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Md Monirul Islam Patwary, director of the unit were also present in the meeting.