The story of Bangladesh's rapid economic progress is one for the history books, as very few nations can claim similar, aggressive growth in such a short time.
One potential way for us to not only keep up that momentum but to even expedite it is through building special economic zones. To that end, the recent announcement of five economic zones receiving a total of $22,17 billion worth of investment comes as a ringing endorsement for this idea.
The five state-run economic zones -- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN), Srihatta Economic Zone, Jamalpur Economic Zone, Maheshkhali Economic Zone, and Sabrang Tourism Park -- are expected to generate employment for 816,000 people. With investment coming in from Japan, China, India, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA, the UK, Singapore, South Korea, and Norway,
However, setting up economic zones is only half the battle, as it stands, too many foreign investors are rightly under the impression that Bangladesh is an incredibly tough sell when it comes to the ease of doing business.
For example, Bangladesh has been ranked among the bottom tier of countries when it comes to the attraction of greenfield FDI. Which is no surprise, given that our country has consistently been branded as one of the more difficult ones in the global Ease of Doing Business Index.
This needs to change.
The government needs to sit down with both local and international stakeholders to continuously improve the business environment of the country. We must do everything we can to maintain our upward trajectory.
