There is no reason to think that the economic condition of Bangladesh will become like that of Sri Lanka, Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to the prime minister, said on Tuesday.
He made the remarks at a media call at the Prime Minister’s Office after a three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Finance Division Senior Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, ERD Secretary Fatima Yasmin, and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah were also present at the briefing.
“The NBR chairman, finance secretary and other senior officials briefed the prime minister about the latest economic scene of Bangladesh,” the PM’s principal secretary said.
Kaikaus said that comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka, a country undergoing massive economic and political turmoil, was very defamatory.
"It is very unfortunate that some people are comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is far removed from Sri Lanka. There is nothing more shameful than comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka," he said.
He added that the prime minister herself spoke with high officials of the economic sector to get a detailed grasp of the country’s financial situation.
“This attention to detail is one of our prime minister’s characteristics that boosts the courage and spirit of our officials,” Kaikaus said.
Showing a comparison between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s performance in various indicators, he said: “We [the government] have kept our promises and been proven right several times, but there are some people who have expressed apprehension over the situation and been proven wrong. Shouldn’t the critics be ashamed of their act?”
Finance Division Senior Secretary Abdur Rouf Talukder agreed with the PMO principal secretary at the briefing and said: “Those who are comparing Bangladesh with Sri Lanka are just defaming our country, there is no logic for this comparison.”
According to Talukder, Bangladesh’s foreign debt is only 12% of its GDP, as compared to about 47% for Sri Lanka. The interest rate on the loans that Sri Lanka has taken from abroad is 7.5% on average, while the interest rate on the loans Bangladesh has taken from abroad is 1.4%.
“When a country cannot repay its debt, it has become bankrupt. There is no chance of us missing any instalments on the loans we have taken,” the Finance Division senior secretary said.
“The four largest economies in South Asia are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, in that order. India’s GDP is higher than ours, but our GDP is higher than the combined GDP of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We export more than what Pakistan and Sri Lanka export together. Our foreign currency reserves are much bigger than the total of Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” Abdur Rouf Talukder added.
Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah said Bangladesh has been shown to be healthy in every financial indicator over the past 13 years.
ERD Secretary Fatima Yasmin said: “We always took safe loans from abroad. We never took commercial loans. Our loan management situation is comfortable.”
Responding to a question Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus said: “There is no option to claim that we are going to face a Chinese debt trap. We are not dependent on China, right now we have only 7.8% Chinese loans. China is our development partner.
“Our target is to achieve the financial heights of the US and China, not to compare with Pakistan or Sri Lanka,” said Kaikaus.
On April 9, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader reiterated that the economic condition of Bangladesh would never be like Sri Lanka.
According to the minister, the comparison of the two economies was motivated and part of a conspiracy.
He said that, given Bangladesh’s massive development spree, those comparing the country to Sri Lanka are doing nothing but deliberately spreading propaganda.
Before that, the premier in parliament brushed aside fears of Bangladesh suffering the same fate as Sri Lanka.
She said that the country had never defaulted in the repayment of its foreign debt and the economic foundation of Bangladesh was very strong.
