Dhaka: The government on Wednesday unveiled its Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development (July 2026 to June 2031), along with a Strategic Action Matrix, outlining a roadmap for economic recovery, restoration, and accelerated development. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman formally unveiled the covers of the two documents at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the NEC Conference Room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. The documents were prepared under the initiative of the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission.
According to United News of Bangladesh, GED Member Dr Monzur Hossain stated that the initiative to formulate the framework was taken soon after the present government assumed office. The draft received policy approval at a National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on May 18 and was later finalized after incorporating opinions from different ministries. Dr Monzur emphasized that the framework differs from conventional planning documents in both its title and contents, being organized around five broad pillars in line with the government’s political manifesto, with 11 economic clusters identified to group related issues and priorities.
The framework assigns strategic priorities for different sectors and assigns responsibilities to relevant ministries, lead agencies, and collaborating agencies to establish a clear implementation framework. It proposes a four-tier institutional mechanism to monitor implementation, including an advisory council of economists and experts, a coordination committee for quarterly reviews, a steering committee led by the Finance Minister for bi-annual reviews, and a governing council led by the Prime Minister for overall oversight.
Dr Monzur highlighted the necessity of such a monitoring mechanism, as previous planning documents lacked an effective system for regularly checking and reporting progress. The framework also emphasizes reforms in areas such as land use, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, and public investment management to improve planning and implementation.
The second volume, titled Strategic Action Matrix, consolidates commitments made by different ministries after the government assumed office. Initially, ministries submitted proposed activities for six months, one year, and five years, which collectively totaled around 2,200 pages. The GED consolidated these into a document of about 300 pages. Dr Monzur mentioned that this document allows everyone to track the completion status of the ministries’ commitments.
The framework aims to achieve higher economic growth and move Bangladesh towards a US$1 trillion economy, alongside broader socio-economic development. The priorities have been divided into three phases: recovery, restoration, and acceleration, with the initial focus on recovery, followed by restoration, and finally rebuilding and accelerating development, including poverty reduction.
Dr Monzur described the framework as a ‘living document’ that can be reviewed and updated periodically. The two documents are expected to be made available online through the Planning Ministry and GED websites.