The programme will focus on creating better-paid jobs and encourage more women into the workforce.

Qimiao Fan, World Bank country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, said: “Jobs are the cornerstone for development.

“Bangladesh needs to create more and better jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector to achieve its growth aspirations.”

Only 36% of women in the country are part of the labour force, compared to 82% of men. The programme will help women enter employment by expanding childcare provision and offering training. 

The World Bank and the government of Bangladesh said boosting the labour market would also lay the “foundation for a more resilient economy”.

The programme will also look at strengthening social benefit systems for workers, amending labour laws and changing the pensions system

In recent years the pace of job creation in the country has slowed, particularly for women and youth, the bank said.

Monowar Ahmed, secretary of the economic relations division at the government of Bangladesh, said: “The programme will help the government’s ongoing initiatives to create labour intensive quality jobs while laying the foundation for a more resilient economy and stronger social protection.”