Finance advisor Salehuddin Ahmed has said that they were in the midst of all sorts of challenges. "Many criticise us, call us useless," he said, adding, "It is fine if you criticise us, but this does not give a good impression to outside. It harms the image."
Speaking about the forthcoming budget, he said, "There has been talk of all sorts of tax cuts. We will have to answer questions about all this the day after the budget. But it is not easy to determine the likes of the common man or social preferences. This time the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not impose what it wanted. We have reached a solution," reports Prothom Alo.
Finance advisor Salehuddin Ahmed made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the national finals of the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad 2025, held at Dhaka Residential Model College in the capital Friday morning,. The event was presided over by Hossain Zillur Rahman, chairman of the organising committee and former caretaker government advisor.
Also present at the event were Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Masrur Arefin, managing director of City Bank; Sheikh Mohammad Maruf, MD of Dhaka Bank; and Mohammad Ali, MD of Pubali Bank, among others.
Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “Economics is an applied science. That’s why we are trying to make economics popular from the school and college levels. This year there were 20,000 participants. Bangladesh Economics Olympiad is increasingly becoming a focal point of attention each year.”
Fahmida Khatun said, “Our growth rate has increased by 1% per decade. But not everyone has benefited from this growth. As a result, inequality has widened. This growth has not been adequate in creating employment. Youth unemployment has increased. For the past two and a half years, people have been suffering from high inflation. When the economy is driven in a one-sided political direction, society regresses.”
While presenting the keynote, Masrur Arefin said, perhaps there have not been significant achievements over the past nine months, but the corruption and irregularities in the banks have come to a halt. Money laundering has ended. That is a big achievement. But political unrest is not the rise again.
In this seventh edition of the event, five participants were awarded at the national level from among 20,000 competitors across the country. They were presented with smartphones and laptops as gifts. These five will represent Bangladesh at the International Economics Olympiad in Azerbaijan.
