Staff Correspondent

Economist Prof Salim Uddin has said that Bangladesh should keep the political stability to keep the growth towards a trillion-dollar economy.

“Bangladesh has experienced rapid growth over the last one decade, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Political stability is important to harness the potential of the economy towards a trillion-dollar journey,” Prof Salim, chairman of Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) told a conference on Bangladesh economy.

Chattogram branch council Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) organised a conference on ‘present scenario of economy and ways to become a trillion-dollar economy’ at Radisson Blu Chattogram on Friday, said a press release.

Bangladesh Bank former governor Dr Atiur Rahman was the chief guest while ICMAB vice-president Prof Salim chaired the session.

In his speech, Prof Salim, a fellow chartered accountant, made an urgency to support export-oriented industries to prompt graduation from a group of least developed countries to a developing one.

“In 2007, the size of Bangladesh’s GDP was only $79.61 billion, but it crossed $465 billion in 2022, growing over 5.8 times in the last 15 years,” he said.

Prof Salim, a faculty of accounting department at Chittagong University, is leading the Union Bank as chairman of the fourth generation lender. He said that Bangladesh has laid out its grand vision to become an `upper middle-income country’ in the next decade and a `developed country’ as well as a `smart nation’ by 2041.

Finance Ministry additional secretary Abdur Rahman Khan, Pacific Jeans managing director Sayed Mohammad Tanvir, Island Securities chairman Mohammed Mohiuddin were special guests on the occasion while Shanta Asset Management vice-chairman Arif Khan presented the theme paper.

In his speech, Prof Atiur Rahman said that Smart Bangladesh is a strategic initiative aimed at fostering sustainable development by promoting inclusive economic opportunities, improving education and healthcare access, encouraging innovation and ensuring environmental conservation.

The size of Bangladesh’s economy will be $1 trillion by 2040 if the current consecutive growth of over 6 percent continues while it will be achieved by 2030 if the growth goes over 8 percent.

Buildcon Consultancies managing director Mahtab Uddin Ahmed presented a paper on ‘sustainable financing for building the trillion-dollar economy’ while chartered accountants Imtiaz Alam and Kausar Alam were also present on the occasion.

Bata Shoe finance director Elias Ahmed and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) director Aditi Haldar presented another paper on ‘sustainability reporting under GRI and SDG frameworks’. Dhaka University Prof Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed conducted the session while chartered accountant Mohammed Salim and BanglaTrac Group chief executive officer Jahangir Alam were present on the occasion.