<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Sunday praised the World Bank for its continued support towards Bangladesh’s development.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>He said Bangladesh's growth has increased by 74 times since 1972, and the World Bank had a role to play behind it.</div><div><br></div><div>“After independence, the country's GDP growth was only $6.3 billion, which has now increased to $465 billion,” he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Kamal said this while speaking as the chief guest as the World Bank and Bangladesh celebrated its 50 years of partnership at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital on Sunday.</div><div><br></div><div>The Finance Minister also said that Bangladesh is currently the 35th largest economy, and the poverty rate has come down to 20 percent, per capita income increased to $2,824 and average life expectancy increased to 73 years.</div><div><br></div><div>Highlighting the future plans, the Finance Minister said, “Our next target will be to turn Bangladesh into an upper-middle income country by 2031, and a Smart Developed Bangladesh in 2041.”</div><div><br></div><div>World Bank Managing Director (Operation) Axel van Trotsenbur, World Bank South Asian Region Vice President Martin Riser, Economic Relations Division Secretary Sharifa Khan, and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Abdoulaye Seck, among others, spoke at the function. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div><div><br></div>