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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says that the entire world is currently experiencing a dollar crisis and its effects aren’t limited to Bangladesh.
“The dollar crisis is worldwide, not just in Bangladesh,” the prime minister said during a press briefing at her official residence, Ganabhaban, on Monday.
“First there was the COVID pandemic, then the Ukraine-Russia war, and then, along with the war came sanctions and counter-sanctions. As a result, inflation has spiked worldwide. Transportation and production costs have gone up. This is why the entire world is suffering from a dollar crisis.”
During the pandemic, imports and exports were hampered and travel abroad was halted, which meant that Bangladesh had low costs and the country was able to build up reserves, the prime minister said.
“When economies reopened, dollars were spent, which is typical. In addition, we are providing power to the people, gas, we are conducting development work, we are investing, production is rising, so the pressure on the dollar is natural."
Bangladesh needs sufficient reserves so it can ensure enough to buy food for at least three months in case of a disaster, she said.
“We shouldn’t worry too much about reserves aside from that,” Hasina said.
The prime minister is holding a press conference on her recent two-week visit to three countries -- Japan, the US and the UK.
The press conference began at her official residence, the Ganabhaban, at 4 pm, her Assistant Press Secretary and continued until 5:40pm.
The premier returned to Bangladesh on May 9.
Hasina flew to Tokyo on Apr 25, kicking off her overseas trip. Japan rolled out a red carpet to welcome her when she arrived in Tokyo on a four-day visit at the invitation of her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
While in Japan, Hasina witnessed the signing of eight instruments on agriculture, metro rail, industrial upgrade, ship recycling, customs matters, intellectual properties, defence cooperation, ICT and cyber security cooperation.
She met her counterpart Kishida after the signing of the deals and also handed the Friends of Liberation War Honour to four Japanese nationals for their contributions during the Liberation War in 1971.
Hasina also met with Akie Abe, the widow of slain Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
On April 29, the premier arrived in Washington, DC. During her visit to the US, the prime minister attended a programme marking 50 years of Bangladesh-World Bank partnership.
She also attended several events on the sidelines that included a roundtable with US business leaders, meetings with the bank's incoming President, Ajay Banga and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
The prime minister then flew to the UK on May 4 to attend the coronation of King Charles III.