Confusion goes away due to improvement in economy: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has said that the shortage of foreign currency has come down a lot in the country due to the high flow of inward remittances alongside the increasing of export earnings.

“All sorts of confusion have gone away due to the improvement in the country’s economy,” he said while talking at a pre-budget meeting with the members of the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) at the Finance Ministry at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka city on Sunday.

Ali said the perceptions of those who had earlier thought that Bangladesh would turn into Sri Lanka, have proved wrong. “There was doubt and confusion over the economy, but that has gone away. Then the representatives of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) came to us and said that they were waiting for our proposals since they had no crisis of funds”.

Ali said that after getting such assurance, it proved that there was no doubt and confusion over the country’s economy. “We’re preparing our budget this time the way it was prepared usually,”

Ruling out the apprehension of many people that Bangladesh would experience situations like Sri Lanka, he said, “We’re still alive, going strong, and working to prepare the next budget.”

The Finance Minister also said, “The country is moving ahead and all the commodities are available in line with the demand of the people. Of course, prices of some products are increasing, while some are declining. The country is moving ahead the way a country is run in a free market economy.”

The ERF leaders, headed by its President Mohammad Refayet Ullah Mirdha and General Secretary Abul Kashem, handed over a set of budget proposals to the finance minister.

Later, the minister assured the ERF leaders and its members of considering their proposals.