World Bank (WB) chief economist Kaushik Basu spoke high on the progress that Bangladesh made in the economic and social sectors in recent years and expressed firm confidence that the country would have a bright future should the current pace of development is maintained, reports BSS. Born in Kolkata and a student of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Basu described Bangladesh’s economic progress as astonishing. In particular, the economist lauded the development in the education, health and social sectors. He made the comments in a brief interview with a private television station – Channel i – at the World Bank Group office in Peru’s capital Lima during the annual WB-IMF meeting held on October 9-11. About the overall economic situation, he was also highly optimistic, saying: “On the whole, the story is very positive” as the country is already “at the top end of the nations on the higher growth trajectory”. He said there are few countries around the world, which could match the growth rate of Bangladesh. Bangladesh maintained a steady 6 plus per cent economic growth in the past few years. Basu, who also worked once at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said the progress that Bangladesh made in various sectors was even unimaginable only 10 years ago. He, however, cautioned that there is no opportunity to be cushioned by the current development because economy is hard to manage. “So, the policymakers should remain aware always to maintain the pace of development.” Commenting on the foreign exchange reserves of Bangladesh, which is currently over $27 billion, Basu said that this reserve position is “very handsome”, but advised that Bangladesh Bank (BB) should remain alert to maintain the reserves at a comfortable level. BB Governor Atiur Rahman was present during the interview. Basu would visit Bangladesh in December at the request of the central bank to deliver a series of lectures on Bangladesh-India relations, regional economy and politics, general manager at the BB’s governor secretariat AFM Asaduzzaman told BSS. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would inaugurate the programme to be held from December 15 to 16, which would be organised by the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) with support from BB, the official said.
