Economy has been pulled back from the brink, says finance advisor

“[The economy] was on the brink of a pit. We have been trying to pull it out of there for the last eight months and now it has turned around,” says Salehuddin Ahmed

Bangladesh's economy has been able to turn around from the brink in the past eight months due to the sincere efforts of the interim government, says Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed.

He made the remarks to reporters after a meeting of the advisory council on economic affairs and government procurement on Tuesday.

The advisor said, "Bangladesh's economy is no longer on the brink. Before this, it was on the brink of a pit. We have been trying to pull it out of there for the last eight months and now it has turned around."

Since taking office, the advisor has consistently spoken of the country’s state of economic distress. He said that, even if efforts to control inflation were not particularly successful immediately, the benefits would come around in March and April.

The finance advisor now says the economy is turning around as the prices of goods have eased somewhat during the current month of Ramadan.

“Many are looking at Bangladesh. Although there have been some mistakes and errors, the situation is satisfactory,” he said.

Commenting on the government’s efforts despite the many challenges in terms of LDC graduation in 2026, the advisor said: “Entering the list of developing countries or graduating from LDC is a matter of pride. The interim government is moving forward with the goal of graduating from LDC by 2026. If there is any problem in the meantime, we will try to resolve it by considering the situation.”

When asked about the recent comments by US Intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard that minorities are being persecuted in Bangladesh, the advisor said that her comments will not cause any problem in the US’s economic relations with Bangladesh.

In an interview given to Indian media in New Delhi on Monday, Gabbard said that the US is concerned about the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh.

Her comments have been condemned by several members of the interim government.

TWO LNG SHIPMENTS FOR APRIL

The procurement committee approved a proposal to purchase two LNG shipments for Apr 2 and Apr 12 at the meeting.

Approval was given to purchase one shipment from the UK’s TotalEnergies at $14.22 per unit and another shipment from the same company at $14.48 per unit.

Approval was also given to purchase 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice from India for the Directorate General of Food. The price of rice per tonne has been fixed at $429.55.

A proposal to purchase 10,000 tonnes of red lentils for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at Tk 94.23 per kg has been approved. At the same time, 110,000 litres of rice bran oil is being purchased at Tk 162.50 per litre.