Home ›› 12 Mar 2023 ›› Front
To increase the informal sector’s contribution to the economy, experts from home and abroad on Saturday called for adopting the latest technologies, improving logistics and supply chain management, and creating skilled manpower to address the need of the hour.
Business leaders, meanwhile, sought policy support to ensure trade facilitation in order to make the economy vibrant as it is bearing the brunt of the geopolitical crisis.
This came at a programme titled “Bangladesh – The Big Picture” and moderated by CNN journalist Richard Quest at the Bangladesh Business Summit 2023 held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) organised the three-day summit in collaboration with the commerce and foreign ministries as well as Bangladesh Investment Development Authority. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the event organised to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the country’s apex business body.
The informal sector is very crucial for Bangladesh in terms of contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) as well as employment generation, Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Xiangchen Zhang told the event as a panel discussant.
“To take the prevailing advantage of this sector, Bangladesh needs to adopt the latest technologies that will create massive changes. This will improve the sector’s contribution to the economy, which will then help Bangladesh attain the goal of becoming a developed country,” he said.
According to the Labour Force Survey 2016-17, about 85.1 per cent of the employed persons aged 15 or older were in informal employment. Such employment was the highest in agriculture (95.4 per cent).
Also, in rural areas, 88 per cent of the employed persons were in informal employment while it was 77.3 per cent in urban areas. In rural areas, 93.3 per cent of females were employed in the informal sector while it was 87.4 per cent in urban areas.
The informal sector contributes over 40 per cent to the country’s GDP, according to the Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development.
Bangladesh has huge scopes for development in the shipping and logistics sector, the WTO deputy director general said, adding the mega infrastructure projects are taking the economy forward.
On the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index 2023, Bangladesh ranks 35th among the 50 most promising emerging logistics markets globally. The country lags behind three of its South Asian neighbours – India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
It is also very much necessary to ensure that the facilities provided by the development projects will be widespread and far-reaching, Xiangchen added.
The chief executive officer of CMA CGM Asia Pacific Limited, Laurent Olmeta, underscored the need for supply chain development in South Asia for better trade flow.
“We want to diversify economic activities here. A massive change is needed in the supply chain in this region,” he added.
Answering a question from CNN’s Richard, FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said, “We want proper policy support from the government to facilitate business as the private sector’s contribution to the economy is 82 per cent.”
To increase the private sector’s contribution, there is a need for infrastructure development, logistics support, and skilled labour, he said.
He also said Bangladesh needs to develop its human resources and improve their skills to accelerate the trillion dollar journey.
“We hope there would be no red tape in future while the business community would drive the economy forward. We want to work together and go forward. We expect more investment from foreign investors and want to work together,” the business leader said.
He added that the country’s export earnings were heavily dependent on jute but the focus shifted to readymade garment after independence. “Now jute, pharmaceuticals, light engineering, and IT have huge export opportunities.”
Salman F Rahman, the private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, said the government is building the Matarbari deep-sea port, which would come into operation by 2026.
It would be a game changer for Bangladesh, he said.
“The government has undertaken a couple of projects to develop infrastructure. We are developing every sector. The government is increasing the capacity of the Chattogram, Mongla, and Payra ports,” he said.
“We are putting an emphasis on re-skilling and up-skilling of the manpower as well. We are working to strengthen collaboration between academia and industry,” Salman said.
The business leader said Bangladesh is preparing for the fourth industrial revolution and primary students are being taught computer coding.
“We are growing. The metro rail is ready. In the next five years, Bangladesh will witness vast changes,” Salman said, adding the government wants to use technology to empower the citizenry in order to build smart citizens, a smart society, a smart government, as well as a smart economy.
“Our discussions are going on with the authorities concerned in Japan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia to get support for operating the seaports in Bangladesh,” he added.
Another session titled “CNN Insight: The Global View on Bangladesh” was held in the afternoon where Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi spoke. It was moderated by CNN’s Richard.
Three memoranda of understanding were signed between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh at the summit to expand trade and commerce. Besides, FBCCI signed another memorandum of understanding with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
