Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said on Monday that Bangladesh is committed to strengthen governance in public investment by ensuring efficiency, transparency, and accountability of financial services.

"The foundation of sustainable development rests on three pillars: accountability, transparency, and ethical governance. These are not abstract ideals, they are practical necessities. Evaluation, auditing, and compliance are the tools that help us build these pillars. They ensure that our policies and projects do not merely exist on paper, but deliver real, tangible benefits to our citizens," he said.

The finance adviser said this while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of a seminar, titled "Transforming Development Building a Culture of Accountability through Evaluation, Auditing, and Ethics" at a hotel in the city.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance and the New Development Bank`s (NDB) Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) Internal Audit Department and Compliance and Investigations Department co-hosted the high-level seminar in the city focused on embedding accountability, evaluation, and integrity at the heart of development projects-key pillars for delivering on Bangladesh`s growth priorities.

The seminar highlighted NDB`s approach to sustainable development through integrated evaluation, audit, and compliance systems. With over 150 participants-including senior-level policymakers, development experts, private sector leaders and others-it served as a dynamic platform for cross-learning among emerging economies.

Additional Secretary and Wing Chief of Asia, JEC and F&F under the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance delivered the welcome speech while Director General of Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of NDB Ashwani K. Muthoo delivered the introductory remarks.

Secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning Md Kamal Uddin and Secretary of the Planning Division Iqbal Abdullah Harun were special guests.

Secretary of the Economic Relations Division Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky also spoke on the occasion.

Shahriar Kader Siddiky said that the presence of distinguished experts and partners from the New Development Bank, as well as from key ministries and agencies, is a valuable opportunity for dialogue and knowledge exchange.

"We must learn from international experiences and adapt global best practices to our context," he added.

Ashwani K. Muthoo said NDB looks forward to deepening relations with the Bangladesh government and other agencies.

"Bangladesh is in the process of introducing a `National Project Evaluation Policy`. We are ready to provide support on it for finalizing the policy," he added.

The one-day event featured keynote addresses from global leaders in development policy.

The seminar signaled growing cooperation between NDB and Bangladesh, which joined the Bank in 2021 the first non-BRICS country to do so. As the Government of Bangladesh continues to scale up its infrastructure ambitions, today`s discussions underscored the importance it places on good governance, evaluability and long-term sustainability, as well as NDB`s commitment to working closely with Bangladesh, financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects that support its national development objectives and commitments under the SDGs.

Source: BSS