Kamal hopes Bangladesh will one day become part of G-20

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal says he hopes that Bangladesh will one day become part of the G-20 group, an intergovernmental forum of the finance ministries of the world’s largest economies.

Kamal made the statement on Monday while attending the G-20 conference in India’s Gujarat as the leader of a delegation from Bangladesh, which is attending as a ‘guest country’.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdul Rouf Talukder is also part of the delegation, reports bdnews24.com.

“We can hope that Bangladesh will be included as a member of the G-20 group before too long,” Kamal said in a statement upon joining the event.

Though Bangladesh is not part of the G-20, India, the host country for the conference, has also invited nine ‘guest countries’ from parts of the world to attend.

The representatives from these countries will take part in several meetings during the G-20 conference. Bangladesh is the ‘guest country’ from the South Asia region.

Kamal said that the G-20 is an international economic alliance formed to bring together the world’s important developed and developing countries to discuss issues key to the global economy.

“The host country, India, has invited Bangladesh as the only ‘guest country’ from South Asia. This invitation, received from a friendly neighbour, is certainly a great honour for us. Participating in the G-20 is a unique opportunity for Bangladesh to be part of the global decision-making process,” the finance minister said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been invited to attend the G-20 Summit of Heads of State and Government in New Delhi from Sept 9-10, he said.

The finance minister spoke of Bangladesh’s continued development over the years at the conference, noting that in 1972, immediately after independence, the country’s GDP was only $6.3 billion, but had now increased to $460 billion.

Under the far-reaching and strong leadership of Hasina, Bangladesh has become a role model for development across the world, he said.

Kamal said that Bangladesh is currently the 35th largest economy in the world and will become the 24th largest by 2036.

The country’s next goal is to become an upper-middle income country by 2031, and a ‘smart’ developed country by 2041.

The finance minister also noted the slogan of this year’s G-20 summit – One Earth, One Family, One Future – stating that the world is currently in the middle of a global economic crisis.

Everyone needs to be aware of the situation and take sincere action, something the G-20 can play an important role in, he said.