Established in 1966, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aims
for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty, for the approximate 1.8 billion
people in the region who are poor, unable to access essential goods, services,
assets and opportunities. ADB as a major source of development financing, works
across 59 countries, in partnership with member governments and other financial
institutions, and is focused on delivering projects that create economic and
development impact. ADB is committed to helping developing member countries in
the areas of investment in infrastructure, financial and public administration
systems, impact of climate change, and help nations prepare for evolving into
the thriving modern economies that are well integrated with each other and the
world. For details, please see: www.adb.org
Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main
intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 54
independent states, making up almost one-third of the world's population, a
quarter of the world's governments and one-fifth of global trade. With a diverse
membership, the Commonwealth is a microcosm of the wider world. With democracy
and development as its pillars, the Commonwealth is committed to supporting
pro-poor policies for economic growth and sustainable development.
Impartial and non-ideological, the Commonwealth Secretariat implements the
decisions agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government, provides technical
assistance and advisory services, and policy advice on development issues. Its
direct access to policymakers and other relevant stakeholders provides the
members with opportunities to address issues of mutual interest with renewed
commitments, and to share knowledge and best practices. For details, please see:
www.thecommonwealth.org
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP)
is the regional development arm of the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific region
with a membership of 62 governments, 58 from the region. Established in 1947
with its headquarters in Thailand, and with subregional offices in Fiji, India,
the Republic of Korea, and Kazakhstan, ESCAP is the highest intergovernmental
regional platform to promote cooperation among member states for creating a more
interconnected region working to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic and
social development. It carries out work in the areas of - macroeconomic policy
and development, social development, transport, trade and investment,
environment and development, ICT and disaster risk reduction, and statistics.
ESCAP also focuses on sub-regional activities to provide in-depth technical
assistance to address specific key priorities, including poverty reduction and
sustainable development, in the respective sub-regions. To know more, please
see: www.unescap.org
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is a non-profit NGO supported by the Government
of Germany. Aiming at the strengthening of democratic structures, the FES
promotes training and policy-oriented research programmes in Germany, and in
cooperation with partner organisations - in more than 100 countries across the
world. The India office of FES works with policymakers, academic and research
organisations, trade unions and NGOs. Democracy, justice and solidarity are the
guiding principles of the activities of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.
Facilitating discussions on crucial issues related to the development process in
India is the main objective of the FES work. This is done by providing a
platform for interaction at the state, national and regional, i.e. South Asia
levels. For details, please see:
www.fes-india.org
Norway opened her Embassy in Bangladesh in 1972 with an emphasis on development
cooperation. Bangladesh is among the largest recipients of Norwegian bilateral
assistance amounting to more than USD 1 billion. Today relations with Bangladesh
have shifted towards multilateral cooperation and strategic partnerships,
research and capacity building with leading institutions in Bangladesh and
Norway. The focus is on climate change and disaster risk reduction, environment
and energy, women's participation, human rights and governance. This also
includes CPD, Centre for Policy Dialogue, and its long-standing cooperation with
CMI, Chr. Michelsen's Institute. Today private sector cooperation and Norwegian
direct investment is a crucial feature of the relations with Bangladesh
especially in the telecom sector. For more, please see:
www.norway.org.bd
Oxfam Novib, the Dutch development NGO roots back to 1956, with the creation of the Nederlandse Organizatie voor Internationale Bijstand (Dutch Organisation for International Assistance or Novib). In 1994, Novib joined the Oxfam International, the worldwide known network of independent development and poverty alleviation organisations, and changed its name into Oxfam Novib in 2006. It fights for five basic rights derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely: 1) right to sustainable livelihood resources; 2) right to basic social services; 3) right to life and security; 4) right to social and political participation; and 5) right to identity. To know more about the organisational activities, please see: www.oxfamnovib.nl
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an organisation working on ground
with 177 countries, is the leading global development agency for
transformational change. UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to
help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of
growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. UNDP in the Asia-Pacific
region works with programme countries for the achievement of their national
development goals and human development objectives including the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Country and regional programmes are delivered through
24 UNDP Country Offices and the Asia-Pacific Regional Centre. The focus is to
help countries build and share solutions to the challenges of poverty reduction
and the MDGs, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, environment
and sustainable development. For details, please see:
www.undp.org
