The Chinese government on Wednesday accused Taiwan's ruling party of seeking independence, a day after the self-governing island's president lobbied for Australia's support in joining a regional trade pact. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, also said the recent Chinese military drills around Taiwan were held to combat "the arrogance of Taiwan independence separatist forces." United States and China launch economic and financial working groups with aim of easing tensions China claims Taiwan, an island about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off its east coast, as its territory. The two split during the civil war that brought the Communists to power in China in 1949, with the losing Nationalists setting up their own government in Taiwan. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, meeting with six visiting Australian lawmakers on Tuesday, sought their country's support for Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-nation free trade agreement. Bangladesh, China to work together to push relations to a new height, says Dipu Moni The Australian parliamentary delegation discussed strengthening economic cooperation with Taiwan, particularly in clean energy, and expressed an interest in Taiwan's semiconductor industry. Zhu said that any participation by Taiwan in a regional economic grouping should be handled in accordance with the "one-China principle," which holds that the Communist Party is the government of China and Taiwan is a part of the country. "The Democratic Progressive Party's attempt to seek independence in the name of economy and trade will not succeed," she said, referring to Tsai's political party. Army Chief leaves for China to attend 19th Asian Games Zhu signaled that China would not ease up on its military activity around Taiwan. "As long as Taiwan independence's provocations continue, the People's Liberation Army's actions to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity will not stop," she said.

Terming the countrywide load-shedding an early sign of grave economic crisis, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the government will now find it very difficult to overcome the crisis and prevent its fall. “The economists are saying problems are being created in every sector. The government will now be at a loss for what to do.  People are fuming and they’ll burst with anger, hastening the fall of the government,” he said. Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, Fakhrul also said the government has given around $7.5 to the Export Development Fund from the reserves to abet those who are doing business in different countries. “They siphoned off the money abroad and built houses there. So, that money is not coming to the country anymore. This is the beginning of the crisis.” He feared that the country’s economy will be hit hard by the frequent power outages as production in RMG and other sectors will be hampered by it. “The economy of Bangladesh mainly depends on the garment industry. When there is a shortfall in power and energy supply in that sector, problems will arise regarding the production and transportation,” the BNP leader observed. Mentioning that fuel oil and electricity are deeply intertwined with the economy, he said when the rationing system is introduced in power distribution, there will be a considerable possibility of reduction in production. “The economists are saying that this (load-shedding) is a temporary measure. They (govt) have to take steps toward a permanent solution to the problem. But they’re not going in that direction. They are not raising prices (of power) further in fear of facing public wrath as the prices have already been increased. But the economy is suffering tremendously,” the BNP leader viewed. He said the government will have to now pay the power plants that are not generating electricity due to the fuel crisis.  “In that case, a large part of the money will be spent and in most cases, these payments are made in dollars. These problems have been created due to rampant corruption and for lack of the government's plans. Their only goal is to indulge in corruption everywhere.” The BNP leader said the government paid about TK78,000 crores to the power plants that did not generate any electricity. “It is being now said that six diesel-run power plants remain closed, but they and other plants will continue to get money. I saw in the newspaper that Tk1760 crores will have to be spent for them annually. It’s now proved that they (govt) did it to create a scope for special companies to make money and thus they themselves benefited from it.” He warned that the government must be accountable to people someday for plundering public money by paying the power plant owners without producing electricity. Apart from the power sector, the BNP leader said the government is cutting money from people's pockets in various ways in the name of mega projects. "The biggest problem now in Bangladesh is the lack of good governance and accountability anywhere. So, corruption is the main cause behind the crisis that has now arisen." Fakhrul said the government should not undertake any plan or project which will be a burden on the country. ”If we buy outsized shoes we cannot wear them. That is what exactly now happening in the country, but people have to pay for it.” Even, he said the experts are warning that a situation like Sri Lanka may arise in seven other countries, including Bangladesh. At the press conference, Fakhrul also came up with the decisions made at a virtual meeting of their party’s standing committee on Monday. He said their meeting strongly condemned the recent attacks on the Hindu community members and on their houses and temples in Narail. It also formed a three-member investigation committee, headed by party vice chairman Advocate Nitai Roy Chowdhury, to look into the incident, the BNP leader said. He said the probe body has been asked to submit the report by July 26. Fakhrul said their standing committee meeting voiced concern over the crash of a cargo plane carrying arms from Serbia for Bangladesh on July 16. He said the meeting expressed wonder at the contradictory statements by the ISPR. “The statement of the Serbian Defense Minister and the statement of the ISPR are not consistent, causing confusion among people.” The BNP policymakers urged the government to make public the real information in this regard. Besides, the meeting denounced the government’s move to increase the prices of WASA’s water and 53 medicines. Referring to different comments of Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Fakhrul said,”He (CEC) has now become a laughing stock.” He said it has been proven over the last 10 years that a fair and credible election is not possible under Awami League and any partisan government. “The government must restore the caretaker government system for ensuring an acceptable election and overcoming the crisis.”

France is keen on strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh for mutual economic and social benefits overcoming challenges ahead, a French diplomat in Dhaka said on Wednesday. “We now have to keep working together to combine our strength in order to consolidate mutual economic and social benefits and to face the numerous challenges to come,” said Chargé d’affaires at the French Embassy in Dhaka Guillaume Audren de Kerdrel in a message marking the French National Day that falls on July 14. He assured that the French Embassy will continue to play an active role to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. While Bangladesh is still facing the challenges of climate change, France commends the leading role of Bangladesh in the Climate Vulnerable Forum. “France remains at the disposal of Bangladesh in this area as well as in the field of infrastructures, particularly transportation, access to clean water, energy and telecommunications,” said Kerdrel. He said this year is a great and special year as France and Bangladesh celebrated on 14th February 2022 the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationships between both countries. The diplomat described the year 2022 as a milestone in many ways for Franco-Bangladeshi cooperation as the two countries are also celebrating the 30 years of archeological cooperation and exploration of the large site of Mahasthangarh, north of Bogura. "This archaeological cooperation is the longest standing cooperation between our two countries. With excavations being carried out jointly by French and Bangladeshi archaeologists, this endeavour stands as a perfect symbol of our two countries cooperating by sharing knowledge and resources to work together towards a common goal,” he mentioned. Read:Argentina keen to exporting soybean, fertilizer to Bangladesh In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the French diplomat said his country did display vaccine solidarity, in particular within the framework of the Covax facility with the support of the vaccination program of the French Development Agency. The French Development Agency, which opened its Dhaka office in 2012, has become a key player in development cooperation in Bangladesh with projects in many different areas such as energy, water, transportation, health and finance. On May 12th 2022, a host country agreement between the government of France and the government of Bangladesh was signed to legally seal the establishment of the AFD as a Development Partner of Bangladesh. On this occasion AFD renewed its commitment in supporting green and inclusive growth in Bangladesh. Since the beginning of the shared history, France has been a committed partner in its relationship with Bangladesh. “Our country has heard the voice of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: in 1971, André Malraux relayed his call to support the freedom and independence fighters,” said the French diplomat. Two years later, he was received with great honors in Dhaka by the President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. A recent publication in France, “Malraux and Bangladesh” retraces in detail this founding moment and the symbol of our friendship and this beautiful book is currently being translated into Bangla. The official visit of the Prime Minister to France from November 9th to November 13th of 2021 has reflected the strong bond and the friendship between our two countries, said the CDA at the French embassy. France and Bangladesh once again reaffirmed their determination to strengthen partnerships in the field of blue economy, defense and science in particular. France celebrates its National Day in commemoration of the storming of the Bastille in Paris on the 14th of July 1789. It remains the powerful symbol of the French revolutionary fight for emancipation from a then absolute monarchy, followed a few weeks later by the landmark proclamation of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”, opening the long and arduous way to the establishment of democracy and the rule of law.

The U.N. envoy for Sudan warned Monday the east African nation is heading for “an economic and security collapse” unless it addresses the political paralysis following October’s military coup and moves toward resuming a civilian-led transition. Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council that the military’s “violent repression” of protests against the coup is continuing and the absence of a political agreement on returning to a transitional path has already led to a deteriorating economic, humanitarian and security situation in the country. The coup upended Sudan’s democratic transition after a popular uprising forced the military to remove autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Also read: UN chief wants Ukraine humanitarian cease-fire Near-daily street protests demanding a return to civilian rule have been met by a crackdown on protesters that has killed 80 people, mostly young men, and injured over 2,600 others, according to a Sudanese medical group. Western governments and world financial institutions suspended their assistance to Sudan in order to pressure the generals to return to civilian-led government. Perthes said the United Nations, the African Union and the eight-nation east African regional group called the Intergovernmental Authority in Development have agreed to join efforts to facilitate Sudanese-led political talks. The aim, he said, is a “return to constitutional order and (a) transitional path, with an empowered civilian-led government to steer the country through the transitional period and address the critical priorities.” To give these talks a chance of succeeding, he said, “favorable conditions must be created” including an end to violence, ensuring the right to demonstrate peacefully, the release of political detainees, and “a firm commitment” to phase out the military’s current state of emergency in the country. He said women demonstrators have been subjected to violence and intimidation by members of the security forces and 16 women have reportedly been raped during protests in the capital of Khartoum as of March 22, though the figure could be higher due to under-reporting. Also read: UN finds link between widening inequalities and vaccine access Perthes said that over the last two weeks, the three organizations have been working on a common approach and consulting key Sudanese parties. He said many of them “have emphasized the urgency of the situation and the need for a speedy yet sound resolution” a view he shares. “We expect to start an intensive phase of talks in the next couple of weeks, fully recognizing that this will be during the (Muslim) holy month of Ramadan,” Perthes said. “We anticipate that the stakeholders will participate in the month’s spirit of peace and forgiveness.” The U.N. envoy said that “the stakes are high” and the aspirations of the Sudanese people “for a prosperous, civilian-led, democratic future are at risk.” “Unless the current trajectory is corrected, the country will head towards an economic and security collapse, and significant humanitarian suffering,” he said. There have been disturbing reports of increased tensions among Sudan's different security forces, Perthes added. This has sparked concerns in some quarters “that if a political solution is not found, Sudan could descend into conflict and divisions as seen in Libya, Yemen or elsewhere, in a region already beset by instability,” he said. Perthes also warned that the combination of conflict, economic crisis and poor harvests “will likely double the number of people facing acute hunger in Sudan to 18 million people by September 2022.” In the absence of a political solution, he said, crime and lawlessness are rising and intercommunal conflicts in the vast western Darfur region have intensified, with farmers forced off their land by violent attacks, villages burned, and homes looted.

The government is aiming to take up the economy’s revenue-GDP ratio to 11.5 per cent by 2023-24 fiscal through modernisation of revenue administration, broadening the tax base, higher tax compliance, reform of laws and simplification of process. "This is expected to significantly impact revenue mobilisation, and hence, over the medium term, total revenue-GDP ratio is projected to increase at 11.5 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal," an official document stated. READ: Poland praises Bangladesh’s economic growth The projection for 2022-23 fiscal is 11.3 per cent while target for the current 2021-22 fiscal is 11.3 per cent. It said that in the recent years the government has taken several significant stringent measures to reinforce domestic resource mobilisation. Revenue income elasticity with respect to GDP is low in Bangladesh. "The current revenue-GDP ratio is very low compared to the neighbouring and other developing countries," said the document. It mentioned that to recover the economy from shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has maintained an expansionary fiscal policy stance. In the context of COVID-19, revenue earning has declined significantly. On the other hand, higher spending due to government's adoption of countercyclical measurers as responses to the economic impact of COVID-19 is creating budgetary pressure. Several reform initiatives have been taken by the government to reinforce domestic resource mobilisation as well as to improve revenue-GDP ratio. In this connection, the document stated that automation of the VAT collection and bonded warehousing system are ongoing. Enactment of the new Customs Act, 2020 is at the final stage. In 2019-20 fiscal the revenue-GDP ratio was 9.5 per cent while target for 2020-21 fiscal was 11.9 per cent, but it was revised to 11.4 per cent. The document said that the fundamental objective of public expenditure policy is to enhance and improve the emergency healthcare facilities, stimulate both private and public investment, creating employment opportunities, expansion of social safety net programmes and ensure efficient redistribution of wealth through pro-poor, inclusive development. In addition, it said the government is pursuing to keep budget deficit within the sustainable range so that the debt to GDP ratio does not increase at a higher pace. "Due to outbreak of the pandemic, implementation of development projects has been slower, but the expenditure on social protection programmes and stimulus packages to address the COVID-19 crisis is rising substantially," the document added. The size of public expenditure is historically low relative to GDP. It was only 14.9 per cent to GDP in 2019-20 fiscal, while it stands at 17.5 per cent in the revised budget of 2020-21 fiscal year from 17.9 per cent. The document mentioned that public spending is targeted to be elevated to around 17 per cent of GDP over the medium term. For the current 2021-22 fiscal it has been set at 17.5 per cent while for 2022-23 and 2023-34 fiscals it has been projected at 17 per cent. READ: WB lauds Bangladesh's economic growth despite downturn As per the document, the government has already initiated public financial management (PFM) reforms. The PFM Reform Strategy 2016-21 along with other reform programmes have been implementing with a view to improving overall public service delivery, financial control of budget allocation, real time monitoring of budget execution, and integration of recurrent and capital spending. The PFM Action Plan 2018-23 has been prepared and implementation is going on. Under the PFM reforms, the official document said, E-chalan system and a new budget and accounting system (Ibas++) have been introduced, new accounting BACS has been completed, and automation of national savings certificate sales has been introduced. It also mentioned that the government to person (G2P) payment is being rolled out for social safety net programmes. READ: ADB lowers its economic growth forecast for developing Asia The document hoped that simplification of fund release process, disbursement of government employees' salaries and pensions through electronic fund transfer (EFT) will increase the efficiency of expenditures.

Bangladesh and Australia on Wednesday signed a framework agreement to open newer trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. The Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA), the first of this kind between Australia and Bangladesh in the last five decades, is expected to provide a platform for institutionalised economic interactions and open newer opportunities for trade and investment. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and his counterpart Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan signed it at a virtual signing ceremony.A Joint Working Group will be formed under TIFA with due representations from relevant sectors and sub-sectors. The JWG is expected to offer a mechanism to take forward discussion to realise fuller potentials of trade and investment.While speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Tipu Munshi said, “I am profoundly happy that TIFA has been signed in the year while Bangladesh is celebrating Golden Jubilee of her Independence and the birth centenary of  Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” He said they would expect the TIFA to address all relevant questions including retention of the DFQF treatment for Bangladesh in the post LDC graduation, trade liberalisation, creating conducive atmosphere for greater trade in services and flow of investment. Minister Munshi invited his Australian counterpart to visit Dhaka soon.Minister Tehan warmly accepted the invitation and promised to visit Bangladesh next year with a trade and Investment delegation. “The Morrison Government is working to energise and expand the trade and investment relationship between Australia and Bangladesh, to support jobs and business opportunities in both countries,”Tehan said. He assured Bangladesh of the continuation of DFQF treatment pending next review which is not scheduled in the foreseeable future."Australian has the potential to meet Bangladesh’s increasing education, training and energy needs. And we offer world class expertise, in agriculture and infrastructure development," he added.  READ: Dhaka seeks unity against vaccine inequity to accelerate economic recovery efforts Bangladesh-Australia bilateral trade has grown six times over the past decade, reaching A$2.6 billion last year, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. RMG, agriculture, food and education services were key drivers of this growth. Despite not being an elaborate and legally binding agreement, TIFA can help add new tradeable items from both sides and facilitate bilateral trade and investment, MoFA said. Australia proposed to host the inaugural meeting of the JWG in early 2022.Bangladesh High Commissioner to Australia Sufiur Rahman and Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer also spoke at the event. High Commissioner Rahman said Australia can utilise Bangladesh as one of its major suppliers of manufactured goods. “Australia can see Bangladesh as the entry point to the sub-regional market of over 300 million people,” he added. READ: Saifur behind macroeconomic stability in Bangladesh, claims BNP The signing was witnessed by the Commerce Secretary, representatives from the two High Commissions, DFAT Australia, Ministry of Commerce and the Foreign Ministry.

Tension is worsening between governments who have gone for lockdown to limit the transmission of coronavirus and people yearning to restart economic activities as fears of a depression looms.

Md Mahbub ul Alam, managing director & CEO of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has achieved ‘CEO of the Year 2019’.