Every future investment will be made in strict adherence to economic standards to ensure that taxpayers’ money is used for public welfare, BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Thursday.

Khosru said that investments must be carefully evaluated, speaking at an event titled “Free Medical Services and Health Check-up Camp 2025” at Dhaka University.

“We must move away from the culture of investing solely for the purpose of looting public funds. From now on, every investment must take public welfare into account,” he said.

“If the BNP gets the opportunity to run the country, we will assess the return on investment, how welfare-oriented it is, and what environmental impact it may have—only then will we invest,” he added.

Expressing disappointment over the state of healthcare facilities at Dhaka University, Khosru noted, “It is unfortunate that such a large university campus does not even have a pharmacy. This alone shows how indifferent universities are regarding healthcare.”

He said the BNP plans to allocate up to 5 percent of GDP for the health and education sectors. “Health is a fundamental need. There is no scope to ignore it,” he said.

Outlining the party’s health-sector priorities, Khosru said that if the BNP comes to power, preventive healthcare will be addressed first, followed by primary healthcare services.

“Families spend Tk 5,000–10,000 every month on primary healthcare alone. To reduce this burden, primary healthcare will be made free for all citizens,” he added.

Regarding the BNP’s promise of creating one crore (10 million) jobs within 18 months, Amir Khosru said the initiative involves extensive planning, training and monitoring.

“People say we are ambitious. Yes, we are highly ambitious. Without ambition, a country cannot move forward,” he said.