Bangladesh
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to see examples
of projects
in this country
Bangladesh has witnessed sustained economic growth in recent years and is making progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals , but the challenges – including the drive to reduce poverty – remain daunting. With nearly one million people joining the labour force every year, job creation is one of eight important areas the government is targeting to help reduce poverty. Structural issues, however, remain key challenges, particularly problems of good governance that affect the efficient and effective delivery of basic public services to the poor, and the need to diversify the industrial base and improve the enabling environment for business.
EU assistance 2007-2013
The EU-Bangladesh Strategy Paper (2007-2013) 
[378 KB] 
is grounded in Bangladesh's own response strategy to these challenges and seeks a balance between supporting economic growth and dealing directly with exclusion and poverty. Financial support of €200 million is being provided through the multi-annual indicative programme for the first four years (2007-2010) with three priority areas for cooperation:
- Human and social development – especially secondary education (including technical and vocational education and training) to improve quality of teaching and strengthen progress made in enrolment and quality of primary schooling
- Good governance and human rights – to strengthen the efficiency of governance institutions, improve the delivery of public services and promote the protection of human rights
- Economic and trade development – to enhance competitiveness and the investment climate by supporting measures that improve the legal and institutional framework and the policy framework for trade and private sector development, while taking full account of the social dimension of globalisation
In addition, assistance will be provided for environment and disaster management, as well as food security and nutrition.
Recent assistance
The Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006 [597 KB] allocated funds to the following sectors:
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Health, population and nutrition (€120 million)
Health projects in the 1990s focused on population issues and family planning, as well as a community project in Cox’s Bazaar targeting the poor that ended in 2005. These projects were built on by sector-wide approaches and the current ‘Health, nutrition and population sector programme’ (HNPSP) (2004-2010) with a contribution of €108 million to a total sector programme of €3.375 billion. In 2001, the Commission also supported action at the Centre for Population and Health Research. -
Education (formal/formal primary education) (€135 million)
Between 1994 and 2001, the Commission provided €133 million to support education. In 2004, it joined the sector-wide second ‘Primary education development programme’ (PEDP-II) contributing €105 million to a total budget of approximately €1.3 billion. This is complemented by a €29 million project in support of non-formal primary education. - Food security and rural development (€120 million)
- Employment creation (€10 million)
- Trade capacity and economic development (€49 million)
The European Commission has been one of the largest donors in the trade sector, contributing €63 million. Trade-related assistance prepared the private sector for the end of the textiles quota system, to further develop export potential and to implement the country’s World Trade Organisation commitments.
A further €23 million was devoted to development of the Chittagong Hills area and went to assist NGOs, the promotion of democracy and human rights, refugees, humanitarian aid, disaster preparedness, and regional programmes. So far, Bangladesh has been a modest beneficiary of the Asia regional programmes, which provide funds for business, higher education or environmental partnership projects.
Between 2003 and 2005, the Commission supported areas where there was a commitment to reform and to human rights. The UNDP Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Development Facility was supported in its drive to underpin the CHT Peace Agreement, and funds were continuously provided for the Rohingya refugees. A further €1 million was allocated for UN High Commissioner for Refugees activities to support the Rohingya refugees in 2006. That EU support for the Election Commission was ultimately impossible to implement, illustrates the difficulties besetting donors in the governance area. However, funding went to an NGO project for civic awareness in preparation for the 2007 elections.
More information
The European External Action Service is responsible for the EU's cooperation strategy in Bangladesh.
Details of cooperation projects and programmes can be found on the website of the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh.