In our continuous efforts towards fulfilling our nation’s potential as an economic powerhouse, Bangladesh currently stands as the 41st largest economy in the world.
Given that we can continue our growth even after dealing with the devastating effects of a global pandemics and local and international problems shows the effectiveness of our policies and the resilience of the Bangladeshi people.
Of course, there are areas in which we can do better. While our comparative ranking has moved up a notch, we have actually fallen behind in terms of raw numbers. Our GDP output stands at $397 billion this year, compared to an output of $400bn last year.
Given the current turmoil in the global market, a deficit such as this was to be expected -- coupled with the fact that foreign buyers are cancelling many of the orders that they had pledged to our RMG factories.
This is specifically the reason we have to focus more on diversification. The RMG sector has been the backbone of our economy since time immemorial, and both local and global events show that such a heavy reliance on a singular sector can pave the way to issues fast. The global oil market taking a hit due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can be chalked up as yet another reason for such deficits.
All of these issues point to a solution of relying less on international import and emphasizing local manufacturing more.
This is the route we have to take in the coming years. Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in attaining self-reliance in a number of sectors. We already have mega projects such as the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on the way, while the Padma Bridge currently stands complete.
If we can continue to focus on the in-house production of most of our commodities, then we can drive down the amount of our imports and focus on increasing our imports. When that happens, we will be unstoppable.
