EU Presidency Declaration on Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Bangladesh

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on publication of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Bangladesh

The UK in its present capacity as holder of the Presidency of the European Union has the honour to present the following statement on behalf of the European Union's Member States and the European Commission to confirm the European Unions long-term partnership with Bangladesh.

The European Union commends the Government of Bangladesh for its commitment to poverty reduction and its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as set out by its ambitious and comprehensive strategy "Unlocking the Potential: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction".

The Poverty Reduction Strategy provides a realistic picture of the development challenges in Bangladesh and acknowledges upfront the role of NGOs and private sector in realising the MDGs. The Strategy's analysis reflects the multidimensional nature of poverty for Bangladesh and correctly seeks to build on past gains, stop slippage and address implementation. This will help build on the remarkable progress already made by Bangladesh on macroeconomic stability, growth and human development.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy rightly identifies weak governance, poor human security, and violation of some human rights as significant challenges to improving the livelihoods of poorest and women, and to stronger economic growth. Corruption hinders service delivery, and this holds back growth and progress on development. These issues also constrain the successful implementation of Government plans. Likewise political and ethnic violence, as well as recent bomb attacks, add to human insecurity and are significant threats to continued development. The European Union hopes the Government of Bangladesh will demonstrate its commitment to addressing all these issues during implementation of the Strategy.

The European Union commends the Government of Bangladesh's efforts to consult international partners and sections of civil society during the drafting of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. However the European Union notes with disappointment that full political participation in the PRSP process was not achieved. The European Union looks forward to stronger cross-party engagement during implementation of the Strategy and continued commitment to the Strategy beyond the next elections in 2007.

Bangladesh continues to confront fundamental development challenges. The European Union values its partnership with Bangladesh and looks forward to a successful implementation meeting on 15-17 November. We stand ready to support Bangladesh in this challenging process.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, EFTA countries Iceland and Liechtenstein, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• EU Election Observation Mission to Bangladesh (15/12/2006)
• EU Parliament Support for Global Action against Poverty (6/7/2005)