Planning and education adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud on Saturday said that building an equitable society in the current reality was challenging, given that huge capital flights, corruption and massive irregularities had constrained investments in education, health, human resource development and other areas.
He made the comment at the inaugural session of the Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD) 2024, organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies at the Hotel Lakeshore at Gulshan in the capital Dhaka.
Wahiduddin, also an economist, inaugurated the four-day development conference titled 鈥楨quality, Opportunity, Freedom, and Dignity for Equitable and Sustainable Development鈥�.
BIDS director general Binayak Sen delivered the opening remarks during the inaugural session.
Discussing how Bangladesh could build an equitable society following the student-led mass uprising, Wahiduddin highlighted the severe resource constraints faced by the interim government.
He pointed out that significant amounts of money were siphoned off abroad, while domestic funds remained in banks but were inaccessible.
Regarding the projects initiated during the previous government鈥檚 tenure, he pointed out that several projects were prestige-driven, undertaken primarily for publicity rather than necessity.
The interim government is now re-evaluating their purposes and outcomes, he said.
鈥榃e are still trapped in the lower middle-income bracket, far from achieving what the Philippines has, let alone Malaysia,鈥� the adviser observed.
He mentioned that Vietnam鈥檚 per capita income in the 1990s was similar to Bangladesh鈥檚.
鈥楴ow Vietnam鈥檚 per capita income is 40-50 times of Bangladesh. They secure $20 billion annually in foreign direct investment, while we attract just $2 billion,鈥� he said.
鈥榃e lack substantial global economic integration and need significant advancements in education and technology,鈥� he added.
Regarding Bangladesh鈥檚 LDC graduation, he highlighted the country鈥檚 qualification twice for the graduation.
Seeking an extension to remain an LDC is seen as regressive, he said.
鈥極nce qualified, a nation must graduate. We need active global engagement to navigate this shift,鈥� he added.
Wahiduddin Mahmud also expressed hope that Bangladesh would see an elected government in 2025.
鈥楴o country can become rich overnight. It requires collective efforts and a聽sustained strategy. Our interim government is here for a short term,鈥� Wahiduddin said.
The interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed on August 8 following the fall of the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Indermit S Gill, the chief economist of the World Bank Group, said, 鈥楾o escape being trapped in slower growth, middle-income countries need to balance the economic forces of creation, preservation and destruction.鈥�
Middle-income countries which are home to six billion people, are in a race against time, he said.