The World Bank has expressed its interest in supporting the government's priority programmes, including the Family Card and Farmers' Card initiatives, employment generation and women's economic empowerment.

World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh Jean Pesme expressed the interest during a meeting with Prime Minister's Adviser Mahdi Amin at the Prime Minister's Office in Tejgaon on Tuesday afternoon, said a press release.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of government's priority programmes, with particular focus on the nationwide expansion of the Family Card programme, the Farmers' Card scheme, job creation, increasing employment opportunities for women, expanding technical and vocational education and strengthening the economic empowerment of grassroots women.

They also exchanged views on expanding the Family Card programme across the country to ensure greater inclusion of poor and marginalised people, especially women.

The discussion highlighted the importance of developing a skilled workforce and strengthening employment-oriented education to meet future labour market demands.

Mahdi Amin, also PMO spokesperson, briefed the World Bank delegation on the government's policy priorities, including key commitments outlined in the BNP's election manifesto, and discussed strategies for their effective implementation.

The two sides also discussed possible areas of cooperation to promote inclusive development, public welfare, employment generation and broader participation of people at all levels.

The World Bank representatives expressed their willingness to share with Bangladesh their experience of implementing development programmes in different countries. They also reaffirmed their interest in providing technical support and working closely with the government to implement its priority initiatives.

The World Bank delegation included Gayle Martin, Dhruv Sharma, Aneeka Rahman, Syed Rashed Al-Zayed Josh and Shrayana Bhattacharya.