Swiss, French assistance to support Bangladesh’s agri-business, environment-friendly projects
Switzerland will provide CHF5.5 million as a grant while France will give €100 million as loan
The Swiss government will provide CHF5.5 million as a grant to support the agri-business enterprises of Bangladesh.
Also, France will provide €100 million to Bangladesh as loan for energy-efficient, renewable energy and environment-friendly projects.
The country signed a credit financing agreement with Bangladesh on June 15 in Dhaka, reads a release issued by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) on Thursday.
The ERD Additional Secretary Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta and the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) Country Director Daniel Vain signed the loan agreement.
The loan will be provided for long-term debt financing and catalysing private sector participation through the implementing agency Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Idcol).
Idcol is a public financial institution specialising in the financing of infrastructure and renewable energy projects and developing intervention in new green segments.
The loan has a repayment period of twenty years and a grace period of seven years.
A concessionary rate of six months' Euribor plus 35 percent will be offered as a rate of interest under the agreement.
The credit financing agreement aims to contribute to Bangladesh's transition to a less carbon-intensive economy.
It will support the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF) projects to deepen the market and energy efficiency practices in industrial enterprises and the tertiary sector.
It will also develop industrial projects for the production of renewable energies.
The AFD is a bilateral development agency implementing official development assistance on behalf of the French government. It has been operating in Bangladesh since 2012.
The agency supports development projects for urban development and infrastructures including water and sanitation, public transports, urban services, power, and green energy.
It provides concessional sovereign loans and can mobilise grants under the regional blending facility of the European Union.
The AFD has a portfolio of €610 million in Bangladesh of which the amount of grant is €24 million.
Swiss support
The ERD and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24 June in Dhaka, reads another press release issued by the ERD on Thursday.
The ERD Secretary Fatima Yasmin and Director of Cooperation and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh Suzanne Mueller signed the agreement.
Under the agreement, Switzerland will fund "Making Market Work for the Chars" projects.
Rural Development and Co-operative Division and the Department of Co-operatives will be the implementing agencies of the project.
The SDC contribution aims to support the expansion of private agri-business networks in chars to enhance productivity and quality of crops and livestock production of char households to create increased income and employment opportunities.
It will also support innovation for the growth of local enterprises. Integration of these local enterprises with regional and national value chains will facilitate transactions with char dwellers for products and services.
The project will also support public investment in relevant infrastructures through capitalisation and anchoring of market development approaches in public institutions and public-private partnerships.
The SDS has had its assistance in Bangladesh through food aid, commodity aid, and project aid from the Swiss Confederation since the fiscal year 1976-77.