Bangladesh on Wednesday rolled out the third Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Strategy for 2025–2030, with the Finance Division saying the new roadmap widens the reform focus from systems to institutional strength, clearer outcomes, accountability and improved public service delivery.
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed launched the strategy at a programme at the Finance Division multipurpose hall in Dhaka, attended by secretaries, senior government officials, heads of constitutional bodies and development partners, according to a press release.
The strategy outlines steps to strengthen fiscal discipline, manage rising public risks and ensure better value for money as Bangladesh faces pressure from climate change, global economic volatility and expanding public expenditure needs.
“We are accountable to the general public, and this long-awaited PFM Strategy is about ensuring transparency, accountability and better quality of public services,” said Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.
He urged officials of the Finance Division, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) and other relevant actors to accelerate implementation, saying coordinated action was essential to build a stronger governance system and a more transparent public financial system.
The launch was organised under the Strengthening Public Financial Management Program to Enable Service Delivery (SPFMS).
Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder presided over the programme, while Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Md Nurul Islam and World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Jean Pesme attended as special guests.
Additional Secretary Budget-1 and SPFMS National Program Director Ziaul Abedin delivered the welcome address, while World Bank Lead Governance Specialist Suraiya Zannath also spoke.
Finance Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder said the strategy was shaped through sustained and collaborative work over a long period by officials of the Finance Division, line ministries, constitutional bodies, development partners and technical experts.
Comptroller and Auditor General Md Nurul Islam said the reform journey was about attaining fiscal discipline, modernising financial processes and strengthening governance, adding that a strong and independent audit mechanism was essential to the success of the reform agenda.
World Bank Division Director Jean Pesme said Bangladesh had made notable progress through reforms such as the Integrated Budget and Accounting System Plus Plus (iBAS++) and the digitalisation of pension systems, which strengthened credibility, oversight and transparency in the use of public resources.
He said the country still faced challenges in institutional capacity, fiscal management and public debt, and added that strengthening regulatory quality, governance and corruption control would be important to sustain credible projects, effective oversight and long-term fiscal stability.
The PFM Reform Strategy 2025–2030 is structured around 15 reform pillars, covering fiscal sustainability, revenue mobilisation, public investment management, treasury and debt management, procurement, internal and external oversight, digital transformation and capacity building.
For the first time, the strategy mainstreams climate-smart PFM, gender-responsive budgeting and sector-specific financial management reforms for health, education and social protection.
Resilience is a core theme, with the document highlighting the need for improved macro-fiscal forecasting, integrated debt management and transparent reporting of fiscal risks, citing Bangladesh’s low tax-to-gdp ratio and rising exposure through state-owned enterprise liabilities and contingent risks.
The strategy also says the success of the next reform phase will depend on sustained political commitment, stronger coordination across agencies and continued investment in public sector capacity as Bangladesh moves toward upper-middle-income status.
