Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, huge success has been achieved in poverty alleviation in the last 15 years, said Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday.

He said that the world is praising Bangladesh for reducing extreme poverty to less than six percent.

“As a result, Bangladesh has become an example in the world in poverty alleviation,” he said while inaugurating a project by the European Union for the poor at the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) auditorium in the capital's Agargaon on Wednesday. The PKSF has initiated the project.

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Due to huge subsidies and cooperation in the agriculture sector, food of 17 crore people can be produced in the country, he said. “otherwise, the lion's share of foreign exchange reserves would have been spent by importing rice every year,” he said.

Urging the EU to increase cooperation, Razzaque, also a presidium member of the Awami League, said there is still poverty above the national average in vulnerable areas including coastal, haor and char regions.

“It is very difficult and risky to grow crops in these adverse areas. That is why we are giving great importance to the production of crops in these vulnerable areas. The EU-PKSF project will play a significant role in this regard,” he added.

The minister also called on the EU to enhance relations with government institutions.

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He said various donors and international organisations are more likely to work with NGOs. This is not the case that all the NGOs in the country have transparency and accountability, he said. Therefore, the work of NGOs should be strictly monitored, he added.

Presided over by PKSF Chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the function was addressed, among others, by Its Managing Director Namita Halder, Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Md Salim Ullah, Ambassador and European Union Head of Delegation Charles Whitley and Project Director Sharif Ahmed Chowdhury.