Govt to seek development partners’ opinion to formulate 8th 5-year plan 

Bangladesh has a resource gap worth $928.48 billion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within 2030. 

The country needs $9.28 billion per year in foreign aid to minimise the resource gap, but there was a little progress in collecting this money. 

The government is planning to discuss this issue at the next meeting of the highest forum of the development partners in January next year in Dhaka.  
 
Meanwhile, the implementation period of the seventh five-year plan is reaching its end in the current fiscal year. The General Economic Division (GED) of the planning commission is taking a preparation to formulate the eighth five-year plan, which will be implemented within the fiscal years 2020-2021 to 2024-2025.
 
The government is willing to apprise the development partners of the implementation progress of the SDGs and seek their opinion to formulate the eighth five-year plan and support to implement it, said Dr Md Rezaul Bashar Siddique, joint secretary of the Development Effectiveness wing of the Economic Relations Division.

In this regard, the Economic Relations Division is going to arrange a meeting of the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) – the highest forum of development partners – at the beginning of the next year.
 
The officials concerned said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the two-day BDF meeting at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka on January 22.
 
The last meeting of the BDF was held in Dhaka in January, 2018. The progress of the implementation of the decisions taken at that meeting will be reviewed at the upcoming meeting after two years.
 
Dr Md Rezaul Bashar Siddique told The Business Standard, "The issues related to graduation from a lower developed country to a developed one and the preparation for the fourth industrial revolution will be discussed at the meeting."
 
Dr Shamsul Alam, a member of GED, told The Business Standard, "The government is willing to provide the village people all the services available in towns. Electricity, education institute and hospitals are now available at upazila and even at the village level, which means we are moving towards our goal. We want to inform these initiatives to the development partners"

He also said the government needs an additional $928.48 billion to implement the SDGs within 2030. 

Sources at Economic Relations Division said the last BDF meeting was held in January last year to move the country forward through cooperation in the priority sectors.
 
The two-day conference also pledged to strengthen partnerships between the government and partner agencies in light of the seventh five-year plan and Sustainable Development Goals.
 
President of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and high officials of another 28 major development partners were present at the meeting.
 
"We hope some more development partners will send representatives from their head offices in the upcoming meeting," said Dr MD Rezaul Bashar Siddique.