Finance
IMF Bangladesh's economy on right track: IMF
Dhaka, Oct 14: Citing various steps taken by the government to address macroeconomic challenges, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Bangladesh's economy is on the right track.
Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department (APD), said, "I think the economy is on track to meet program objectives, bring inflation under control and address macroeconomic challenges in a tough global environment."
The director of the IMF said this at a press conference on the 'Economic Outlook for Asia Pacific' on the occasion of the annual meeting of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Marrakesh, Morocco on Friday. In response to a question, Krishna Srinivasan said that the authorities in Bangladesh have taken important steps to address the macroeconomic challenges.
"They have tightened monetary policy to reduce inflation and allowed flexible exchange rates," he added.
Srinivasan emphasized on increasing revenue collection to help achieve goals in both development and infrastructure.
He mentioned that every country in the region including Bangladesh is facing challenges due to the global crisis.
He said every country must redouble its efforts to advance growth-enhancing reforms.
The IMF director also said that if the government's revenue ratio increases from a low level, there will be an opportunity to spend more if necessary to meet important needs such as education and infrastructure while keeping government debt under control.
He said strengthening multilateral and regional cooperation and mitigating the effects of geo-economic fragmentation are critical to Asia's economic outlook in the coming years.
"To that end, reforms that reduce non-tariff trade barriers, enhance connectivity and improve the business environment are essential to attract more foreign and domestic investment in the region," he added.
