UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo has reaffirmed the United Nations' strong support for the reform initiatives of Bangladesh's interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus. "Had a productive meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin, discussing the country’s transition, regional challenges, and cooperation with UN," she said in a message through X, formerly known as Twitter. The UN USG expressed gratitude for Bangladesh’s generosity towards the Rohingya and reiterated the UN support for its reform efforts. The meeting was held in New York on October 10 during Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin’s maiden visit to New York, underscoring Bangladesh's commitment to multilateralism and its collaborative efforts with the United Nations. Terming the UN support as ‘crucial’ in realising the aspiration of July-August revolution, the foreign secretary thanked DiCarlo for the reaffirmation of support, according to a message received from Bangladesh's Permanent Mission to the UN on Friday. During the meeting, they also discussed Bangladesh’s contribution to UN peace architecture, and the protracted Rohingya crisis. On UN peace operations, the foreign secretary made a request to the UN through USG to increase representation of Bangladeshi nationals at the senior policy making levels. On the Rohingya issue, he underlined ‘global attention as well as global action’ to solve the Rohingya crisis. He expressed concerns at the current conflict situation in Myanmar, which is leading to new influx of Rohingyas inside the territory of Bangladesh. Read: Fakhrul wants interim govt to focus on reforms for credible elections Alluding to the possible spill over in the entire region, the foreign secretary urged the UN to play a greater role in resolving the crisis in Myanmar and facilitating the repatriation of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar. He also assured Bangladesh’s full cooperation to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General. The foreign secretary recalled the proposal of Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus to convene an international Conference on the Rohingya crisis, and requested the support of the United Nations in that regard. In response, the Under-Secretary-General appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the interim Government of Bangladesh and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She offered further cooperation to advance the reform initiatives in key areas. The USG commended the role of Bangladesh in UN Peacekeeping. On the Rohingya issue, she expressed hope that new Special Envoy of the Secretray General, Julie Bishop will continue to work with all stakeholders to address this issue comprehensively. Earlier the foreign secretary delivered a statement at the Third Committee of the General Assembly on ‘advancement of women’. In his statement he highlighted the importance of investing in women education and skill development, and underscored the need to mobilize necessary financial resources in this regard. He emphasised Bangladesh government’s initiatives in female education, gender parity, close digital divide, ensure wellbeing and economic empowerment of women to make them self-reliant. Read more: Italy offers support for Bangladesh's police reforms, safe migration The foreign secretary also highlighted Bangladesh's commitment to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, CEDAW and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda while mentioning Bangladesh’s key role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the adoption of its founding resolution 1325 in 2000. Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith was present at the meeting with the Under-Secretary General.

To address the present crisis on the economic front and ensure resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth, the government of Bangladesh has adopted several reform initiatives to be implemented in the medium term (2025-26). The significant reform actions include: Revenue Mobilisation, Improved Expenditure Management, Monetary and External Sector Management, Financial Market Regulation and National Income Accounts, according to a budget document. The government has focused on reforms in tax policy and revenue administration. The plan is to mobilise additional tax revenue of about 1.7 percent of GDP by the end of FY 2025-26. Currently, the tax-to- GDP in the country is below ten percent. Read: Bangladesh’s economy has a dignified position now: PM Moreover, the government is focusing on untapped areas in the tax-revenue sector to enhance overall revenue while also emphasising non-tax revenue sources. The document states that fiscal management has become increasingly complex due to elevated and unpredictable inflation that has the potential to undermine the soundness of financial institutions and fiscal operations. The uncertainty surrounding prices, wages, and interest rates influence inflation through aggregate demand and expectations, which in turn posed challenges to fiscal planning and budgetary preparations. Read: 1st Circular Economy Summit in Dhaka on June 15 Besides rationalising the subsidies, there is a plan to bring down the cost of borrowing and bring efficiency in debt management, the document said. It said that the net National Savings Certificate (NSC) issuance is planned to be brought down to below 1⁄4 of total net domestic financing by FY26. The government plans to optimise cash management by expanding the coverage of the treasury single account (TSA) and the use of electronic funds transfer (EFT). Read: Govt to introduce circular economy to prevent plastic pollution: Minister    Several reform measures have been implemented including the reduction of interest rates of saving certificates, the introduction of tiered interest rates, capping issuances, and increasing taxes on earned interest, all aimed at reducing the government's interest expenditure. In FY 2021-22, the contribution from national savings certificates accounted for 0.5 percent of GDP, a decrease from 1.2 percent in FY 2020-21. Efficient cash management is also a priority to save public funds by minimising interest expenditure. To achieve this, the government is strengthening and expanding the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which is expected to facilitate better cash management, reduce interest expenses, and improve commitment controls. Read more: Increased import costs putting pressure on economy in many ways: Minister In the Monetary and External Sector Management segment, to improve monetary operations, Bangladesh Bank will adopt an interest rate corridor system. Furthermore, to increase exchange rate flexibility, Bangladesh Bank will use market-determined exchange rates for official foreign exchange transactions on behalf of the government. To strengthen the external sector balance and improve monetary sector performance, Bangladesh Bank is going to implement several reform initiatives in the medium term. Read more: Budget not based on IMF conditions: Finance Minister There will be reform activities to unify the multiple exchange rates and bring more discipline to the foreign exchange market. Bangladesh Bank will reverse the temporary margin increases for opening letters of credit on nonessential imports. The official budget document says that “With a view to establishing a risk-based banking supervision system, Bangladesh Bank will complete the pilot risk-based supervision action plan.” Read more: CPD dismisses budget's projections on growth, inflation, revenue collection Also, it mentions that to improve governance and discipline in the financial market, the government will amend the Bank Companies Act and Finance Companies Act in line with best practices. The amended Bank Companies Act was accordingly passed last week. For better transparency, Bangladesh Bank will publish banks' distressed assets in the annual financial stability report. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has taken the initiative to publish quarterly GDP for having a clear view of national income accounts. Read more: Doing our best to keep economy going amid global recession: PM Hasina