The economy avoided a major crisis over the past year due to reforms and initiatives taken by the interim government, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Fahmida Khatun said on Sunday.
Speaking at a dialogue titled ‘365 Days of the Interim Government’ at Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan, she said banking sector reform was a key move that boosted remittance and export earnings while stabilising foreign currency reserves.
Fahmida said the steps taken had prevented a collapse but inflation remained high, investment stagnant, job creation absent and revenue mobilisation slow. She called for continued social protection programmes and sustained inflation control measures.
She urged preparation of investment-ready sectors over the next six months so that the incoming government could attract investors without delay after the February 2026 national election.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said investment signs were visible in the pipeline but would take more time, noting that large investors were likely to wait for political clarity. He added that while imports remained steady at $5 billion a month, capital machinery imports were down, raising the question of who would invest in the current environment.
Mansur said the interim government had faced two key challenges, ensuring macroeconomic stability and advancing the reform agenda so that any future government could carry it forward.
CPD distinguished fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman recalled that in August last year, reserves were falling, the taka was depreciating rapidly, inflation and unemployment were rising, and export growth was slowing. He said the past year had been a time to assess whether reform commitments were being met.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said money laundering had stopped during the interim government’s tenure, leading to higher remittance inflows and export growth. He criticised the decision to continue with the previous “autocratic” budget instead of introducing a new one with a stronger social focus.
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association president Showkat Aziz Russell said the textile sector had seen no positive change in the past year, citing higher corporate tax, new duties on raw cotton, persistent extortion, and power and gas shortages. He also criticised the policy of providing funds to mismanaged banks instead of shutting them down and expanding good banks’ branches to protect jobs.