Country not dependent solely on foreign aid, says Muhith
Development needs vision and target, says ADB vice president
STAFF REPORTER
As Bangladesh is on the way to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) status and is confident of its growing economy, finance minister AMA Muhith yesterday did not seek direct financial support from development partners (DP).
Foreign aid is very important for Bangladesh, though its contribution is only 1.3 per cent to the countrys economy, said Muhith.
He moderating a session of the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) meeting titled Implementation of the 7th FYP and SDGs: Challenges and way forward, orgainsed by the Economic Relations Division (ERD) at a city hotel.
BRAC chairman Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, principal secretary to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) Mohammad Najibar Rahman, finance secretary Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, EU ambassador Rensje Teerink, UN resident coordinator Mia Seppo, World Bank country director Qimiao Fan, and Asian Development Bank (ADB) vice president Wencai Zhang also spoke at the event.
Prof. Shamsul Alam, a member of the General Economic Division (GED), made a presentation on the topic of discussion.Currently, the economy of Bangladesh is not dependent on foreign aid. But its importance is significant for the development of the economy, he said.
Addressing the session, the finance minister focused on infrastructure deficit, which poses a major obstacle to higher growth. He also emphasised the quality of education.
Mohammad Najibar Rahman said political will was the main force for the development of a country and the government must have such an agenda for economic development.
At present, the rural economy of Bangladesh was vibrant and it would not be long before the country had a strong the rural economy, he added.
Fazle Hossen Abed emphasised proper planning to reduce extreme poverty. He also suggested joint work in this regard.
He also pointed to the success of BRAC in reducing extreme poverty.
Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury sought financial support to address the investment gap to implement the Seventh Five Year Plan and SDGs. Its not possible to get all the investment from domestic resources. So, we need support from our development partners, he noted.
Rensje Teerink assured the continuation of the EUs support to help Bangladesh graduate from the LDC club. She, however, stressed the importance of fighting corruption and lack of good governance.
She said the public finance management system should be efficient and emphasised economic governance. The EU was ready to provide support to Bangladesh, she added.
Wencai Zhang said: The ADB stands ready to support Bangladesh in tackling challenges to meeting the SDGs, improving infrastructure, and boosting social development. Improving the education quality, enhancing access to healthcare, and creating more employment opportunities, particularly for women, are some of the challenges to be met to achieve the SDG targets.
Zhang, in his remarks at the opening session of the BDF, said it was necessary to further boost investment to fulfil the countrys growth aspirations and move the economy to a higher growth trajectory. The ADB vice president also noted that the ADBs country operations and business plan for Bangladesh for the next three years reflected the governments key development priorities for inclusive growth with projects in infrastructure and social development.
He said ADB operations would address infrastructure development (transport, energy and urban services sectors), rural infrastructure, skill development, climate and disaster resilience, and regional cooperation and integration.
Zhang urged Bangladesh to gather global experience for development and emphasised the role of government policy. I think money alone cannot ensure development, which needs a vision and target. Proper technology must be adopted as part of the development strategy, he said.
