Talks eventually yielded an agreement for the Russians to build a power plant in Ghorashal, as well as to assist in clearing mines, sunken ships and wreckage from the war out of Chittagong Harbor.
[4] Later in the year, Sheikh Mujib's delegation would visit Washington D.C. and London, and by September 1972 they had US$400 million in foreign currency reserves and the groundwork of a relationship with the IMF and World Bank.
Working as a block with India and Sri Lanka, Islam served as the Alternate Executive Director for Bangladesh while S.R.
[7] As Alternate Executive Director, he was also charged with ensuring that development projects made it through the bureaucracy with all necessary approvals so that work could begin in earnest.
During the last of these visits, on 7 July 1975, Sheikh Mujib was trying to form his single political party BAKSAL as part of his campaign for one-party rule.
Islam finished his tenure with the World Bank in July 1977, and subsequently returned to the Government of Bangladesh as Secretary of Industry.
As fate would have it, the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, or UNIDO, was visiting Dhaka at the time.
[12] During his time in Vienna, he served as a Senior Industrial Development Field Advisor[13] and liaison between UNIDO and the World Bank.
At no cost India and Bhutan, he would find projects in those countries where UNIDO could contribute expertise and match them with personnel and resources from abroad.
He helped to bring foreign direct investment, and led a matchmaking effort to pair investors with local companies.
[24] In 2011, Islam won The DHL-Daily Star Lifetime Achievement Award for his aggregate accomplishments over six decades of work in accounting, finance, and international development.