Dhaka: Macroeconomic stabilisation alone will not be sufficient to restore high and sustainable growth in Bangladesh, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar said on Thursday. He called for a bold new phase of productivity-enhancing reforms ahead of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget. The remarks were made while he chaired the PRI's Monthly Macroeconomic Insights event titled 'Restoring Growth through Productivity Reforms: Pre-Budget Priorities' at the PRI conference room in Banani.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Sattar emphasized six reform pillars in the PRI report that are crucial for restoring competitiveness and growth dynamism. These include rationalising tariffs, revamping trade openness, radically reforming the tax system, improving the investment climate, reforming the energy sector, restructuring state-owned enterprises, promoting foreign direct investment (FDI), and investing in critical infrastructure.
He remarked on Bangladesh's resilience in recent years amid global and domestic shocks such as the pandemic, global inflationary pressures, geopolitical disruptions, and energy market volatility. However, Sattar warned that the economy is currently at a crossroads, with slowed growth, weakened investment momentum, elevated inflation, and vulnerabilities in fiscal, financial, and energy sectors limiting policy options.
On a positive note, Sattar pointed to encouraging signals like export recovery, robust remittance inflows, improved foreign exchange reserves, and resilient PMI indicators, all suggesting strong underlying economic potential. He stressed that the upcoming national budget must balance maintaining macroeconomic discipline with supporting growth recovery.
Sattar highlighted critical issues around revenue mobilisation, expenditure efficiency, subsidy management, debt servicing pressures, and the effectiveness of public investment execution. These are not just accounting issues but fundamental questions of state capacity and long-term development sustainability, he noted.
With Bangladesh approaching its post-LDC graduation, Sattar underscored the urgency of export diversification, integrating into global value chains, and adopting a modern industrial policy framework. He stressed that Bangladesh can no longer rely solely on traditional growth drivers, and future competitiveness will depend on productivity, innovation, policy predictability, and openness to investment and technology.
Finally, Sattar acknowledged the challenges in the external sector from external shocks and indicated he will offer further insights on industrial policy and trade strategy to navigate the evolving global order.