Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman suggested fostering domestic demand-led growth for ensuring sustainable economic progress while export-led growth is showing a weaker trend, reports BSS. "After decades of globalisation driven growth, global trade growth has now slowed, and is actually trailing global output growth", the governor said while speaking on the prospects and problems in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a sideline event of the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) being held in the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka. Dr Rahman said, "The more subdued prospects of export-led growth means that we should need to foster more in domestic demand-led growth."
To this effect, Bangladesh clearly is working on as an early mover, with the government's attention towards broad-based, equitable socioeconomic development, and with the BB's sustained initiative of promoting socially responsible inclusive financing of environmentally sustainable output initiatives.
Besides, the governor said the central bank had vigorously been pursuing financial markets development to enhance financial sector's capacity in meeting the financing needs for realisation of the 7th Five-year Plan (FYP) growth goals.
"To name just a few, to redress the scarcity of long term savings to finance infrastructure and other long term projects, we are working with development partners to introduce pension savings schemes for the general citizenry, including non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs), besides reforms in public sector pension schemes," he said.
The governor, however, pointed out that though the potential for export-led growth would be weaker and harder to realise, taking advantage of upcoming new opportunities in markets for goods and services like the 'green' output would be helpful in maintaining export-led growth.
"The government and the central bank had already gained global attention by being early movers in this direction too; with the enablement and facilitation steps for 'green' transition of output processes and practices in our businesses," he said.