UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Bangladesh Renata Lok Dessallien gave the assurance when she paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at his office.

"We can assist Bangladesh in many ways and we're supportive of the present government," the UNDP official said.

She said people's mammoth support and expectations have given the government a unique opportunity to give democracy a strong footing and carry out reforms. "Such opportunity does not come always," she added.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed said the caretaker government is accountable to the people and press is free despite state of emergency. "We're accountable in many ways," he told the UNDP representative.

He said the caretaker government is working to fulfill people's expectations as much as possible through identifying the high priority tasks on short-term basis and also taking long-term initiatives to be implemented by the next government.

Fakhruddin said the Election Commission (EC) has already been reconstituted, while reconstruction of the Anti-Corruption Commission is nearing completion.

He said Bangladesh is a vibrant economy which has many achievements and hoped that the country will be able to come out of the present situation and the economy will get a further boost.

The chief adviser gave the UNDP representative an overview of the caretaker government, saying they have two main objectives -- holding a credible election and keeping the economy moving.

Responding to the UNDP representative about the timeframe of the next election, the chief adviser said the Election Commission will now decide the matter as they have to accomplish the tasks of setting up criteria for candidature, election campaign rules, and updating the voter list and other related matters.

He said the government has kept windows open to update people about reforms and steps being taken. "Similarly, people will be able to know the steps being taken by the Election Commission."

The UNDP representative apprised that they have submitted two projects --computerisation of voters' database and the process of electoral reforms -- to the Election Commission. "If the Election Commission wants, we'll provide support," she said.

The chief adviser said Bangladesh's relations with other UN organisations are very good and they are involved in various sectors for economic development of the country.