Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the donors for quick disbursement of the climate change adaptation and mitigation fund to counter the adverse impact of the changing climate on Bangladesh.
"Bangladesh need quick disbursement of the fund promised in the COP-15 summit in Copenhagen in last December for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for least developed countries' (LDCs) and low lying coastal countries," the PM told the donors.
The premier said this inaugurating the first session of the two-day long Bangladesh Development Forum, a key meeting between the government and donors, in the capital's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
She also urged the donors to increase the amount of the adaptation and mitigation fund so that the countries facing the grave consequences of the changing climate could handle it bravely.
The PM hoped that the outcomes of the forum would give guidelines for development strategies.
The PM told the donors about her government's stance on facing the changing climate saying that Bangladesh has already taken different types of measures for environmental action to mitigate the adverse impact of the climate change.
She also put emphasis on the regional cooperation in this regard and mentioned her recent India visit saying, "I have taken initiative with respect to connectivity, sharing energy, power and water, regional security and trade."
The forum provides donors with an opportunity to know about the government's development programmes that help them learn how and in which areas they can assist Bangladesh.
The meeting is the first of its kind after the Awami League-led grand alliance assumed power in January last year. The last meeting of BDF was held in 2005.
In the inaugural session, Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Department for International Development (DFID) Country Director in Bangladesh Chris Austin, Asian Development Bank Director General (regional director) Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Japan Deputy Director General Kazuo Sunaga and Finance Minister AMA Muhith among others spoke on the occasion.
Source: thedailystar.net
