Finance
Russia-Ukraine War Russia-Ukraine crisis will not put the country's economy at big risk: Finance Minister
Dhaka, March 28: Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that although the crisis caused by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine will affect Bangladesh's economy, it will not put the country's macroeconomic stability at great risk at the moment.
The Finance Minister made the demand in response to a question from Dhaka-10 MP Safiul Islam during the question and answer session of the National Assembly on Monday (March 28). Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury presided over the question and answer session.
AHM Mustafa Kamal said the Russia-Ukraine military crisis is going to hit Bangladesh's economy in the short and medium term. What the outcome will be in the long run will depend on the length of the war and the resulting crisis. However, it seems that even if this crisis affects the economy of Bangladesh, it will not put the stability of the country's macro-economy at great risk at the moment.
The finance minister said Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, as well as Western economic sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus, had had a negative impact on the global economy. As a result, the market for fuel oil and natural gas has become unstable. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has also affected Bangladesh.
He said that due to the ongoing military crisis and sanctions, the prices of natural gas, crude oil, fertilizers, wheat, nickel, aluminum and important raw materials for electrical products and related Finnish goods may inevitably rise. This rise in prices will have an impact on global inflation. Rising oil and gas prices have pushed up food, industrial raw materials and international transport costs.
The minister feared that the ongoing war could lead to complications in paying for the export of garments made by Bangladesh to Russia.
Responding to a question from Dhaka-18 MP Mohammad Habib Hasan, the finance minister said that in the first eight months of the current financial year (2021-22), loan agreements worth USD 2,162 million have been signed with various development partners of the world. During this time, 2,854 million US dollars have been discounted from the current and previous contracts.
