The World Bank’s priorities for Bangladesh, according to Abdoulaye Seck, country director for Bangladesh, are to improve the business climate for the private sector, go beyond financial commitments to support long-term growth, and boost the efficiency of public institutions.
At the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka’s third quarterly luncheon meeting in 2023, held at the organization’s Gulshan office, he made these observations.
According to a press release, Abdoulaye Seck, who spoke as the event’s principal guest, listed economic diversification and LDC graduation as two of the biggest issues Bangladesh would have to tackle in the next years.
Even when compared to other exporting competitors, Bangladesh’s export as a percentage of GDP was quite low, he continued.
Managing them, according to the national director for the World Bank, would necessitate ongoing discussions between the public and commercial sectors as well as multilateral institutions.
Seck commended Bangladesh for making great strides since becoming independent.
However, he highlighted that accommodating the two million new job applicants each year while taking into account the most recent geopolitical developments and climatic change required modifications.
Additionally, he emphasized the World Bank’s dedication to Bangladesh’s growth and its willingness to engage in future collaborations.
MCCI President Md. Saiful Islam commended the World Bank as a significant contribution to the growth of business and commerce in Bangladesh in his opening remarks.
The MCCI, Bangladesh’s oldest trade chamber, served as a pillar of strength in the country’s trade and commerce sector.
According to the MCCI President, combining the World Bank’s and MCCI’s initiatives might significantly improve Bangladesh’s economic environment.
He also hoped to explore collaboration opportunities with the lending agency in the areas of developing business climate index (which MCCI had already started doing with its BBX report) and climate change.
Other topics that came up during the discussions include the need for skills development, a reassessment and rearrangement of the entire education system, overcoming the export bias of incentive polices, the need to have a renewed focus on agriculture, the need for more losses to be covered by insurance, and the latest National Tariff Policy 2023.
Habibullah N. Karim, vice president of the MCCI, gave a vote of appreciation to conclude the gathering.
Attending the occasion were representatives from several of MCCI’s member companies.
