Bangladesh is geographically a small country but its population is enormous – around 160 million. This means that the average number of inhabitants per square kilometre is 964. Norway’s per square kilometre population is 14 persons. Close to one third of the country is flooded in the rainy season every year.

Vast-spread corruption, barriers on women’s participation in the economy and serious shortage of energy are some of the biggest impediments to economic growth.

Norwegian priorities in Bangladesh:

• Climate and disaster prevention
• Good governance, gender equality and women’s rights
• Business sector cooperation

Bangladesh has been among the largest recipients of Norwegian aid through the years. Norway has paid out a total of over six million NOK to Bangladesh since the country became independent in 1971.

Bangladesh is a country where corruption is common because of poverty, political unrest, lack of coordination by the authorities and lack of independence for the judicial system.

In the recent years the Norwegian embassy has followed up suspicions of corruption and found evidence of corruption in several cases. This is done with assistance from Central Control Unit under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Work for reducing risk for activities such as corruption is a part of the embassy’s agreements for cooperation and it is emphasised in dialogue with the partners.

Disaster prevention

Norway is supporting three pilot projects in Asia – Bangladesh, Vietnam and China – as part of the work to reduce consequences of cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters.

Bangladesh is among those countries of the world that are most vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. In order to deal with the challenges Norway is supporting UNDP’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Program with 100 million NOK over five years. The goal is to help reduce poverty by reducing the impacts of natural disasters.

The project is progressing slower than expected. One of the factors has been that the number of disaster committees to prepare for disaster management in the communities has increased by only 90 since 2009. The goal was to raise the number to 584 by the end of 2012.

Here are some of the provisional results:

• Volunteers have been trained to issue warnings prior to floods, cyclones and other disasters through text messages, TV, radio and people on bicycles with megaphones
• Millions of people are now a part of such warning systems and the goal is to include ten million people by the end of 2012
• Five new universities offer programmes for disaster management. Such programmes are also part of curriculum for years 6 – 8 in high school
• Emergency plans for earthquakes have been drawn up for nine cities that have the highest risk for earthquakes

During the recent years a number of cooperation agreements have been made between Norwegian and Bangladeshi institutions. In order to increase knowledge about climate Bjerknes Centre is working on climate research with Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute is working with Bangladesh Meteorological Department. A Nansen-Bangladesh International Centre for Costal, Ocean and Climate Studies has been established in Dhaka as part of the international Nansen Network. Bioforsk, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research are also involved in institutional cooperation with Bangladesh.

Women, gender equality and good governance

Since 1996 Norway has been supporting the grass root organisation Bangladesh Mahila Parishad. The organisation works to promote women’s rights through legal aid, family arbitration, work for rights and crisis centres. In addition, extensive campaigns are run to influence the political processes related to women’s rights.

Results:

• After ten years 20 state departments now have budgets that include considerations for gender equality in planning and allocation of public funds
• Cooperation for implementation of National Women Development Policy has been passed by the government in March 2011
• Conferences, workshops, study groups, schooling, demonstrations, recitations and arbitration at the grass root level

The organisation Ain o Salish Kendra will receive 30 million NOK from 2012 to 2016 for work to strengthen human rights, legal counselling for women and efforts to change discriminatory laws against women. Norway is the biggest supporter of the organisation. The organisation also receives support from Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland the organisation Oxfam.

Here are some of the results:

• Establishment of low cost model for legal aid. This scheme provides more people better access to law courts, particularly to victims of violence and marginalised groups.
• In 2011 the Supreme Court declared corporal punishment at schools illegal after the organisation challenged the government by making a written complaint to the legal system.
• Local forums of human rights activists have been established which include 500 advocates, journalists and others who have received training to monitor, investigate and react upon breaches of human rights.
• The Supreme Court has declared extra-judicial killings on the basis of Fatwas illegal. This has been a great help to the poor women in rural areas.
• Lobbying has resulted in the development of guidelines for employers in the informal sector that uses child labour. These will be a part of the national Child Labour Eradication Policy.

An external evaluation has shown that it is necessary to adopt a new organisational structure in order to make this work more effective.

Manusher Jonno Foundation is an umbrella organisation that channels assistance to 120 smaller civil society organisations. The donors are Great Britain and Norway. The orgranisation receives 20 million NOK annually from Norway.

Examples of results in 2011:

• 1775 children were removed from dangerous workplaces
• Female leaders have played a central role in arbitration of 16 993 cases of violence against women
• 9417 men and women received vocational training and have gained an opportunity to become independent business operators
• Through Concerts Norway a musical collaboration between Norway and Bangladesh has been established. Live Square Concerts, Chhayanaut, Bangladeshi Institute for Theatre Arts and Arshi Nagar are the partners. Enhancement of expertise in sound technology, intellectual property rights for musicians and documentation of musical traditions at the risk of loss are among the results.

Cultural initiatives are important in the work for human rights and good governance. The goal for cultural cooperation with developing countries is to raise awareness about people’s right to their cultural heritage, cultural diversity and culture as a resource for business activity. Many of the organisations cooperating with Norway use, for instance, theatre to spread information about human rights.

Business cooperation

Norwegian monetary aid is used to run «Business Match Making Program». The programme is aimed at establishing profitable cooperation between Norwegian and Bangladeshi companies. The programme can help reduce poverty in Bangladesh by creating workplaces and increasing wealth generation. A requirement for participating in the programme is that the cooperation must involve transfer of capital, knowledge, expertise and/or technology.

Private sector cooperation is an important part of Norway’s bilateral relations with Bangladesh. Trade between Norway and Bangladesh is rapidly increasing. Telecom sector is the most important area for the Norwegian business interests. At the same time other sectors are being explored. Norwegian investments in the field of oil and gas, maritime sector, aquaculture, renewable energy and ICT may be particularly relevant.

Bangladesh is a major player in ship scrapping. Norad is supporting a project to improve the conditions in this industry. The project focuses on correct handling of dangerous materials, environmental protection and raising health and safety standards. The Bangladeshi authorities and International Maritime Organisation are the cooperating partners.
Nordic Chamber for

Commerce and Industry was founded in Dhaka in 2010 with collaboration of Nordic companies and embassies in Bangladesh. The Chamber offers networks for Nordic companies operating in the country and advice to companies that are considering operating in Bangladesh.