Planning Minister Mannan says at the launching ceremony of a report titled ‘Somriddhir Ogrojatra – Accelerating Bangladesh,’ organized by the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

The three growth drivers — agribusiness, digital economy, and green finance — will be the key agents of success for the future Bangladesh, Planning Minister MA Mannan said on Sunday.

He also said that the roadmap presentation and the three growth drivers, marked by the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), will be a good reference for development planning.

“It will also impact the influx of foreign direct investment [FDI] to aid our economy and for all sectors to flourish,” he added while speaking as the chief guest at the launching ceremony of a report, titled Somriddhir Ogrojatra – Accelerating Bangladesh, organized by the FICCI at the capital.

Both the event and the research report commemorate the 50th year of Independence of Bangladesh and the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The planning minister said this initiative will also focus on a host of small yet strategically important sectors.

Also Read – Agribusiness, digital economy and green finance – the drivers of tomorrow’s economy

“Supporting their competitiveness through sharing global best practices and exploring policy opportunities in Bangladesh will be key to unlocking their potential across the economy,” he added.

According to the report, Bangladesh’s resilience and prosperity can be attributed to a number of causes, including increased private sector involvement, remittance, economic liberalization, and trade integration.

Salman F Rahman, Private Industry and Investment adviser to the Prime Minister, said: “I am happy that FICCI has done a great job, along with the help of Policy Exchange of Bangladesh, and come up with this research report with appropriate measures.”

He also said that each of these sectors have high potential for meeting the country’s economic goals, such as creating employment for a large number of young and skilled people, increasing export earnings, making significant impact on small and medium enterprises, unlocking potential for long-term sustained growth, and exploring new investment opportunities.

The report said that Bangladesh intends to become an upper-middle-income-country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041.

This report focuses on agribusiness, digital economy, and green finance for climate-smart investment to understand what is best to unleash their global and domestic competitiveness by taking into account the global trends, diversification, and national priorities.

Rupali Haque Chowdhury, president of the FICCI, gave the keynote presentation at the event.

She said that FICCI is here to extend full support to the government in promoting FDI.

“We have been providing national budget proposals to the government regularly, not only to improve our revenue collection, but also to make a business-friendly atmosphere for more investment,” she said.

She also said that they are in touch with foreign investors to interact with each other and help build confidence among the existing investors on the seriousness of the government to effectively implement policies and commitments.

“FICCI has played a major role in building a sustainable community across sanitation, infrastructure, education, employment, and along with economic development, we also engage in policy advocacy,” she added.

The inaugural session was on “Changing the Landscape” and then came “Branding Bangladesh,” where BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam, Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman, and MCCI President Barrister Nihad Kabir discussed key aspects for generating more FDI and ways to achieve the developed Bangladesh goal.

During the Branding Bangladesh session, Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Footwear, spoke about the power of other countries, such as South Korea, in regards to their favourable outcomes. He emphasized the introduction of “B power” — the power of nation through “Baul, Build, and Biryani.”

Shahriar Alam, state minister for Foreign Affairs, attended the event as the guest of honor.

Shwapna Bhowmick, EC member of FICCI and country manager of Marks and Spencer was the program chair of the event.

MHM Fairoz, vice president of FICCI and managing director of Singer Bangladesh; Naser Ezaz Bijoy, EC member of FICCI and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank; TIM Nurul Kabir, executive director of FICCI; N Rajashekaran, EC member of FICCI and managing director and country officer of Citi Bank NA; Shehzad Munim, managing director of BATB, and many other thought leaders were present at the event.

Neil Coupland, managing director of JTI Bangladesh, coordinated the program.