Political conflicts might put economic growth of Asian countries, which have already been badly shaken by the global recession, under serious risks, trade experts and economists feared yesterday.
To take the region a leap forward, they emphasised on economic integration and massive investment in developing infrastructure and also on human resources.
The observations were made by the country’s heavyweight 10 economists at the concluding day of a two-day international conference, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC,B) at a city hotel.
The deliberations were made in the business session on Asian Growth: Realities and Challenges, with former finance adviser to the caretaker government Mirza Azizul Islam in the chair.
“Politics should not be in business and business should not be in politics,” said MA Taslim, a professor of economics at Dhaka University.
He said relationship between the democracy and the economics must be kept separate, otherwise, both will be at risk. “Unfortunately, in major parts of the Asia, including Bangladesh, the democracy is at risk because of political conflicts.”
He noted that business should be allowed to operate freely on the basis of market forces (demand and supply) without any intervention by the political forces.
“If this does not happen, economy will not be stabilised in the region,” Taslim said.
The political conflicts starting from the West to East have already jeopardised the world’s economy, he added.
Echoing Taslim, eminent economist and sociologist Hossain Zillur Rahman said: “Politics in the developing nations have now become a ‘crony business’ leading to abuses of taxed-money by a group of people loyal to the party in power.”
Hossain Zillur, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, also noted that the growth acceleration is now emerged as the key issue in the developing nations including Bangladesh simply due to the misuses of political power and the poor governances.
“Resilience is an achievement by the nations including Bangladesh and we have to expand and come out of the cycle of around 6% economic growth.”
American Chamber in Bangladesh (AMCHAM) President Aftab-ul-Islam said Asia involved in political problems.
“India-Pakistan conflict is one of them and such type of clashes lead to the mistrust among the nations,” he said.
Taslim also put emphasis on the investment in the field of infrastructure, education, trainings and anti-environment pollution including impact of climate changes.
Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) vice-chairman Sadiq Ahmed, however, said: “Developing Asia has been doing better than the rest of the world on the growth front despite slowdown in global economy.”
With its rising share of world income and trade, still there are good prospects that Asia will lead the way for global recovery, he said.
Terming the basic fundamentals of China and India are strong, Ahmed said: “With concerted domestics reforms, it is expected that growth will recover to 6-7% in India and stabilise at around 7-8% in China.”
He said along with restoration of stability and growth in advanced economics in the range of 2-3%, these performances can be an important pushing factor for global recovery.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said: “Asia has three types of trends in terms of economic indicators ---dazzling, dancing and the dazed economies.”
He also noted that the Asian economies had been growing in terms of its share in the global economy.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Md Atiqul Islam said, “Bangladesh has adequate room for expanding its exports to both in the Asia and the rest of the world.”
Citing the McKinsey report on Bangladesh’s garments, BGMEA chief opined that Bangladesh now needs five Ps’ (people, power, place, port and politics) for boosting its exports to US$40bn.
Councillor member at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh Adeeb Hossain Khan said Asia should now focus on its own market the region and their respective domestic markets following squeezes in the growth outside the Asia.
The function was addressed, among others, by former governor of Bangladesh Bank Salehuddin Ahmed, executive director of the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development Sultan Hafeez Rahman.