Korea to provide $39.286m grant to BD; deals signed

The government of Bangladesh and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), and the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of the Republic of Korea signed the Record of Discussion (RoD) & Terms of Reference (ToR) for a $39.286 million grant for the project “Saemaul Plus End Poverty Program (SPEPP) in Bangladesh.”

The Project will be implemented by the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) as the lead implementing agency under the Rural Development and Co-operatives Division (RDCD) of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (MoLGRDC).

The Government of the Republic of Korea will provide amounting US$ 39.286 million as a grant to implement the Project, indicatively allocated among KOICA (US$ 30.0 million), MOIS (US$ 5.686 million) and RDA Korea (US$ 3.6 million).

The Project aims to strengthen government and community capacity for sustainable rural community development, enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience, and increase rural household income by strengthening agricultural value chains and community-based business activities, said an ERD press release.

The Project sites are located in the 114 selected villages in Cumilla and Feni districts of Chattogram Division and Bogura district of Rajshahi Division. Implementation period of the Project will be from 2026 to 2034.

Masuma Akter, Additional Secretary and Wing Chief (Asia, JEC and F&F), Economic Relations Division (ERD), on behalf of the government of Bangladesh, and Jihoon Kim, Country Director, KOICA; on behalf of the government of Korea, jointly signed the Record of Discussion (RoD) & Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Project.