United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday urged lawmakers across party lines to view the proposed budget as a roadmap for nation-rebuilding, saying the government is committed to fostering an inclusive economy, equitable development and a dignified life for all citizens. “This budget should not be seen only as the government's budget. Let us view it as a budget for rebuilding the nation. We want to build a Bangladesh where development is based on fairness, the economy is inclusive, the state is welfare-oriented, and citizens enjoy a safe, dignified and promising life,” he said. The Prime Minister made the remarks while speaking during the general discussion on the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 in Parliament. Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh has no alternative but to rebuild and move forward. Expressing confidence in the country's potential, he said the resilience and capabilities of Bangladeshis provide strong grounds for optimism. “We are people who live among the masses and know their realities. The people of Bangladesh are hardworking. Our youths are talented, our farmers are productive, our expatriates are patriotic and our entrepreneurs are full of potential. Therefore, we have no alternative but to rise again,” the Prime Minister said, drawing repeated desk-thumping from treasury bench lawmakers. He also highlighted the government's efforts to recover assets allegedly siphoned abroad during the previous regime. Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh has already sent 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests to 13 countries seeking cooperation in tracing and recovering laundered assets. “The entire Parliament will be pleased to know that the government has already sent 23 Mutual Legal Assistance Requests to 13 countries to bring back assets and money smuggled abroad,” he said. The Prime Minister said agreements have been finalised under international legal frameworks and several affected banks have signed more than 60 non-disclosure agreements with international asset recovery organisations. “We will bring back the people's money and assets as much as possible through legal means and international cooperation,” he said. On taxation, Tarique Rahman said the government's objective is not to increase the burden on taxpayers. “The people elected us and entrusted us with the task to govern the country. Increasing the tax burden is not our goal,” he said, adding that the government instead wants to increase revenue by expanding the tax base, reducing harassment and restoring public confidence in governance. “We want to create a revenue ecosystem where taxpayers willingly contribute to development and feel proud to be partners in the country's progress,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the tax system will be made more transparent and modern. He called for national unity to ensure that no form of fascism or authoritarian rule can return to Bangladesh, stating that political differences should not stand in the way of national interests. “On the question of strengthening democratic institutions, we will all remain united, InshaAllah. Let this be our pledge that no fascist or authoritarian rule can ever take root in Bangladesh again and that no one can turn Bangladesh into a subservient state,” the Prime Minister said. “We may have differences of opinion, but on restoring the economy, reducing people's suffering, bringing discipline to the financial sector, rebuilding confidence, creating opportunities for farmers, youths, women, expatriates and entrepreneurs, and strengthening democratic institutions, we must remain united,” he said. Acknowledging the high expectations of the people, Tarique Rahman said his government remains committed to fulfilling them through transparency, strong political will and effective policymaking. “There is no benefit of hiding problems. We are committed to overcoming the deep-rooted corruption, irregularities and mismanagement that have weakened the economy,” he said. The Prime Minister also highlighted the importance of an independent judiciary in protecting democracy, the rule of law and human rights. He said the government expanded the legal aid programme introduced during the government of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and increased budget allocations for the judiciary. Tarique Rahman further proposed an additional Tk 100 crore for the Supreme Court and Tk 500 crore for the Ministry of Law to address accommodation shortages for judges, improve court infrastructure and support judicial development. He also stressed the need for a professional, honest and efficient civil administration, saying better public services require a skilled bureaucracy operating in an environment free from unnecessary political interference. Referring to the sacrifices made during the struggle for democracy, the Prime Minister said many political leaders and activists from different parties suffered repression, imprisonment and even lost their lives. “We are indebted to them. That is why we must act more responsibly,” he said. On constitutional and political reforms, the Prime Minister said lawmakers should work together on issues, including constitutional amendments and initiatives linked to the proposed July Charter. “Just as we can work together inside Parliament on constitutional reforms and other issues, we can also build public consensus outside Parliament on important national matters and undertake reform programmes to move the country forward,” he said. He said the country's future depends on responsible political conduct and constructive engagement among all democratic forces. Tarique Rahman said the people elected lawmakers with the expectation that they would uphold democracy, human rights, justice and good governance. He said the government is committed to rebuilding an economy weakened by years of corruption, irregularities and mismanagement. The budget discussion was held with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair. Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman also spoke during the debate before the Prime Minister addressed the House. Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury later delivered his winding-up speech on the proposed budget.  

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Saturday said the absence of a clear roadmap for reforms and the upcoming national election has created doubts among people. “We are demanding a clear roadmap from the government to restore the people’s trust,” he said. The Jamaat Ameer made the remarks at the biannual meeting of the party’s Central Majlis-e-Shura, held at Al-Falah Auditorium in the capital’s Moghbazar area. “We also demanded a fair trial of fascism. This trial process is very long. However, a credible trial must be visible to the nation soon,” he said. Referring to the Chief Adviser’s earlier comments, he said, “The Chief Adviser has said several times that he wants to complete the national elections between December this year and June next year. We have confidence in this. We want to provide all kinds of cooperation to the government in this regard.” Dr Shafiqur Rahman added that Jamaat’s politics are aimed at the welfare of the country and its people. “Jamaat always prioritises the interests of the people,” he said.  Jamaat Ameer urges Prof Yunus to call all-party meeting on current issues Criticising previous elections, he remarked that the unopposed election of 2014, midnight voting in 2018, and the farcical 2024 election with dummy candidates made a mockery of the nation. He stressed the need to ensure a fair election for the sake of the country. Regarding the armed forces, he said, “The army is our national pride. The nation expects the armed forces to serve the country by safeguarding its independence and sovereignty.” On the issue of Palestine, the Jamaat Ameer said, “The people of Palestine have been oppressed for decades. We call upon the United Nations as well as the global community not only for a ceasefire but also to permanently end the war.” Addressing the situation in Arakan, he said, “The Rohingyas of Arakan must be returned to their country and resettled with dignity and security. The United Nations must play a major role in this regard.” The Jamaat Ameer called on his party leaders to behave responsibly and remain vigilant and alert in all matters.  PM and party chief should not be the same person: Jamaat Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Prof Mujibur Rahman and D Syed Abdullah Md Taher, Acting Secretary General Maulana ATM Masum, Assistant Secretary General Mawlana Rafiqul Islam Khan and Dr AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, central leaders and members of the Central Majlis-e-Shura attended the meeting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (March 22, 2023) stressed the need for preparing a roadmap aimed at making Bangladesh an aviation hub in the region. “Reaping on the dividend of our geo-strategic advantage, we should create a roadmap as to how we can make our country an aviation hub,” she said in a video statement aired in the inaugural session of the first edition of Aviation Summit in Dhaka. The Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, in collaboration with the UK and France, organised the Bangladesh Aviation Summit-2023 at a city hotel here. Read more: Working to ensure houses for all homeless people: PM Hasina Hasina said this summit is very significant for Bangladesh in the context of the South Asian nation’s aspiration to become an aviation hub in the region. She said just after achieving the membership of ICAO in 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman undertook measures to turn Bangladesh into an ‘Aviation Hub’ to connect the East and the West, capitalizing the advantage of our geographical location. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1975, the move came to a halt, she added. “We have undertaken several measures to support the development of an aviation hub. During the last one decade, we implemented a host of projects to upgrade our airports, airport security and ground handling,” said the prime minister. Read More: Bangladesh Monitor holds seminar to promote smart aviation Besides, a number of projects are running which include HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), Construction of General Aviation Hangar, Hangar Apron and Apron at North side of Fire Station at HSIA; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram; Development of Cox’s Bazar Airport (Phase-I), Cox’s Bazar Airport Runway Extension Project; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Osmani International Airport, Sylhet; and Enhancement of Capacity of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh on Public Security at HSIA, she noted. The third terminal being constructed under HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), will create handling capacity of additional 12 million passengers and 4 million ton cargos, she said. “The transformation of our economy helped boost the travel opportunities for our people and open up new routes and markets for our airlines. When Bangladesh will turn into an Upper Middle Income Country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041, the aviation market will be further expanded,” she added. Read More: PM Hasina: Bangladesh to become aviation gateway between the east and the west PM Hasina said as the economy of Bangladesh has grown, so has the importance of air cargo. “The air cargo market of Bangladesh is rapidly growing at 8 percent per year – three times the world average. This underlines the strong demand for a dedicated national cargo operation in our country. With all of this in mind, there are areas where aviation actors need to do more,” she said. The PM asked relevant government organisations, the airlines and other stakeholders to carry out their responsibility to create conducive environment for the development and sustaining market both for passengers and cargo. Read More: Concerted efforts needed to solve aviation sector’s problems: Speakers “The government is going to introduce e-visa system which will also facilitate and expedite the flow of passengers visiting Bangladesh for business or tourism,” she said. Noting that the promising aviation industry requires skilled manpower, she said, “Our youth must have the opportunities to be trained to become pilots, aeronautics engineers, mechanics, crew members and much more.” She hoped that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University, established by her government, would be able to cater the demand of skilled manpower in the country’s aviation and aerospace industry. Read More: Bangladesh, France keen to build partnership in aviation, space, aerospace technology She said the aviation industry has to lead by example in tackling climate change and strive to meet SDGs. De-carbonation and sustainable aviation fuel are topics which will require investments, concrete actions and the support from developed aviation nations. “The aviation partnership proposed by the UK and France, through Airbus, to support us in our journey is very crucial,” said the PM. Prime Minister’s Private Industries and Investment Advisor Salman F Rahman and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali were also present at the summit. Read More: Police aviation wing taking shape: Four ASPs complete basic course to be pilots.

Economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya on Thursday called for a roadmap for debt repayment of the top mega projects which will be started between 2024 and 2026. “A major shock is coming to the economy between 2024 and 2026 in terms of debt repayments for mega projects that cause concern for the economy. A plan is needed to deal with this situation,” he suggested. Dr Debapriya, a special fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank, spoke to reporters about 20 mega projects in the country in a virtual conversation on Thursday. Also read: Mega projects won’t affect the economy: PM He also said currently the ratio of foreign debt to gross domestic product (GDP) is 1.1 per cent which may be doubled by 2026. In response to the question of whether Bangladesh will be in trouble or not, he said, it will actually depend on how the country's reserve situation is at that time, and how well the economy remains. Debapriya also said that Russia, China, and Japan will have to pay more for big projects. Among them, China's debt repayment period is quite short. Also read: Huge amount of money being siphoned abroad from mega projects: BNP He analyzed 20 mega projects, including Padma Bridge, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, tunnel under Karnaphuli River, Matarbari coal-based power plant, metro rail, rail connection of Padma Bridge and others. About Tk5.57 lakh crore is being spent on these projects. About 62 per cent of this is foreign debt. Debapriya also said that since 2009 there is a kind of national consensus on taking up big projects. Politicians show interest in it as visible development can be seen if big projects are implemented, he said. Even though 20 projects are scheduled to be completed by 2028, Debapriya said that it will not be possible to complete all of them in the current decade. He also pointed out that there is a lack of transparency and accountability in project implementation.

Having adopted the Consolidated Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) at the 38th ASEAN Summit in October last year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) organised a socialisation webinar for the strategy themed "Embracing the 4IR: Outlook, Strategies, and Plans for ASEAN." The strategy, as revealed at the webinar, was built upon the existing 73 4IR-related initiatives undertaken by ASEAN so far, which is likely to increase in number in the coming years. Advanced technology provider Huawei again expressed its commitment to support ASEAN 4IR agenda. The webinar was attended by Satvinder Singh, deputy secretary-general of the ASEAN Economic Community, and Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Will Nankervis. "Although ASEAN, in general, has recorded a fantastic growth rate, there are still many aspects that need to be improved," said Satvinder. "One of them is artificial intelligence (AI) investment, which is still far below compared to AI investments made in countries such as the US and China ($2 per capita in ASEAN as opposed to $155 and $21 per capita between 2015 and 2019 for the US and China respectively)." READ: Brand Finance Global 500 index: Huawei becomes 9th most valuable brand He also mentioned that a holistic approach allows the 4IR to not only be used as an engine for the region's economic growth and competitiveness but also to promote inclusivity and sustainability. Diverse ASEAN stakeholders, such as Dicky Edwin Hindarto, advisor for Indonesia Joint Crediting Mechanism; Sharlini Eriza Putri, co-founder and CEO of Nusantics; Amarti Charoephan, ASEAN director for Techstars Thailand/Impact Collective; Dr Le Hoang Dung, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network; and David Lu, president of Strategy Marketing Department at Huawei Asia Pacific, were also present. Sharlini said: "Startup companies have a much faster pace, as well as the ability to disrupt conventional methods. ASEAN youth must take part in narrating the 4IR, especially around critical issues such as health and environment. So, homegrown startups in ASEAN must be fully supported." David said, "Huawei wants to add to our collaboration footprint in the region to create an interconnected ASEAN and bridge the digital divide. We will work closely with the ASEAN Economic Community to provide the technology, infrastructure, and digital talent it needs." "Together, we will bring benefits such as reliability, lower latency, more effective and efficient production, and digital transformation to every industry."

The government is preparing a roadmap to boost rice production within two years to meet the increasing demand, said Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Thursday. “This year aus, aman and boro paddy production reached record and government stock is at its highest yet price of rice has remained out of control,” he told journalists at the Secretariat after attending a meeting on increasing cultivation of inbred and super hybrid varieties of paddy to enhance production. He said production has to be accelerated by cultivating very high-yielding inbred and super hybrid varieties to make the grain affordable to low-income people.  Also read: Rice price is increasing beyond control despite having highest stock: Razzaque   The minister said agricultural land is on decline and to increase production the newly invented high-yielding varieties will need to be taken to the field immediately. The government has taken time-bound specific plans to increase aus, aman and boro rice production in the next season and expand their production in hill, haor and adverse areas, said Razzaque. Newly innovated BRRI 89 and BRRI 92 boro varieties can yield around one maund of rice cultivated in a decimal. To take it to fields immediately, a list will be prepared of the farmers who will produce these two varieties and their rice will be purchased as seed at higher prices than the market, he said. To encourage the farmers, seeds of these varieties will be provided free of cost and fertiliser at subsidised rates, he added.  The minister urged Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and the Department of Agricultural Extension to create a more reliable statistic on rice demand, production and productivity to remove discrepancy for taking the right decision.    The minister said rice prices in the country are currently rising and unstable as in the global market the prices of food grains have increased. Also read: OMS: Rice to be available at Tk 30 per kg from Thursday Wheat prices which were between $230 to $280 per tonne has now increased to around $450, he said.  “Around 48 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported in the 2020-21 fiscal year but only 16 lakh tonnes were imported until January this fiscal year for its high prices”, he said.  “There are currently 10 lakh Rohingya citizens in the country and every year 22 to 24 lakh new population get added so demand and consumption is on rise hence the rice price is a bit high but there is no food crisis in the country”, said Razzaque.

As the Covid infection rate continues to fall, health experts advised the government to immediately take adequate preparations along with a roadmap to reopen the educational institutions in Bangladesh gradually. They think the government should first reopen the universities and then colleges, high schools and primary ones within the next month by bringing teachers and eligible students under the vaccine coverage on a priority basis. Read Closure of schools, colleges extended again until Sep 11 They also called for preparing national Covid prevention and control guidelines based on health sciences to ensure academic activities in the educational institutions with safety even if the virus transmission goes up further.  The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020 after the country had reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. Then the closure was extended several times. The latest extension was supposed to continue till August 31. Also read: General holidays extended till May 30 But the government on Thursday extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions until September 11. On Tuesday, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said educational institutions in the country will be reopened soon if the coronavirus infection rate continues to decline. Roadmap Talking to UNB, public health expert MH Chowdhury (Lenin), chairman of the medicine department at the Health and Hope Hospital, said the government needs to prepare a roadmap quickly before reopening the educational institutions based on health sciences. Read Protest 'classes' start Thursday at JU