Bangladesh to become Indo-Pacific economic corridor hub : Mozena

Bangladesh would be a ‘mighty contributor’ to the huge flows of commerce in the 21st century trade by becoming a hub of the Indo-Pacific economic corridor and by utilising its ‘geographical gift’, US Ambassador Dan W Mozena said yesterday.
Also, a food-sufficient Bangladesh looks achievable with the ongoing food revolution gaining strength, he said.
He spoke at a conference — NRB talent, remittances and investment for development — organised by the Centre for Non-Resident Bangladeshis at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, the UNB reports.
There are real constraints and challenges that need to be addressed to encourage investment in Bangladesh, but these challenges are resolvable, he said.
Inward remittances in Bangladesh now stand at around 10 percent of GDP, with an average growth rate of 11 percent over the past four years, compared to 7 percent in other countries, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said at the programme.
Despite global economic crisis and political turmoil in Middle East, Bangladesh’s financial and external sector remained resilient with foreign exchange reserves more than $18 billion aided by robust growth in exports, moderate growth in imports and due to unflinching remittance inflows, he said.
The inflows of remittance in fiscal 2012-13 were around $14.46 billion, a 12.59 percent growth ushering a current account surplus for the last five years, only in South Asia despite being a trade deficit country.
“This demonstrates inherent strength of our external sector and hence that of our currency. And one must give credit to NRBs for attaining this strength,” Rahman said.
The government is desperately trying to expand its labour market particularly into the East Asian countries, including Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, he said.
Also, the central bank has been actively working to make remittance processes simpler for the non-resident Bangladeshis, with initiatives including investment and trade fairs to encourage remittance through banking channels, Rahman said.