Desk Report:
A meeting took place on Monday (October 12, 2026) at the Bangladesh Secretariat between Md. Ismail Zabiullah, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration, and Stefan Liller, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP delegation included Deputy Resident Representative Sonali Dayaratne, Assistant Resident Representative Anwarul Haque, Senior Governance Specialist Tanvir Mahmud, and Mahmudul Hasan, Project Manager of UNDP Bangladesh’s ‘Strengthening Institutions, Policies and Services’ (SIPS) project. Dr. Delwar Hossain, Director General of the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) under the Prime Minister’s Office, was also present at the meeting.
The UNDP Resident Representative briefed the Adviser on UNDP’s ongoing activities in Bangladesh, particularly highlighting the partnership with the Prime Minister’s Office’s Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) regarding governance innovation, public sector reform, institutional strengthening, and ensuring citizen-centric services. This joint partnership reflects a commitment to building a public administration system that is more responsive, people-friendly, evidence-based, and accountable. Both parties also held detailed discussions on potential areas for future collaboration.
The Adviser expressed satisfaction and gratitude for UNDP’s continued support of Bangladesh’s development journey. He noted that UNDP has long been one of Bangladesh’s most trusted development partners.
Md. Ismail Zabiullah, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration, sought further assistance from UNDP in promoting good governance, creating employment, and enhancing the skills of government officials. He also called for UNDP’s cooperation in implementing citizen-centric initiatives and simplifying service delivery processes, in alignment with the BNP’s election manifesto. The UNDP has expressed its interest in continuing to support the current government’s priority areas and reform agenda—particularly in governance innovation, public sector reform, institutional strengthening, and citizen-centric service delivery.
