DHAKA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Johannes Zutt, concluded a 3-day visit to Bangladesh on Tuesday and reaffirmed the lender's commitment to fostering job creation and promoting inclusive growth in the South Asian country.

"The government places a high priority on large-scale job creation, alongside skills and investment, and the World Bank Group shares this commitment," Zutt was quoted as saying in a statement by the Washington-based lender.

"In this context, we are stepping up our focus on supporting the government priority of creating jobs, notably for youth and women."

In the past decade, Zutt said 14 million youth entered Bangladesh's labor market, competing for only 8.7 million jobs.

This means that nearly half of working-age youth did not find jobs, he said, adding that young women face particularly steep barriers.

With global uncertainties rising, he further said it is urgent for the government to undertake the long-pending macro-economic and financial sector reforms that are needed to address foundational bottlenecks to economic growth and job creation. ■