DHAKA, Dec 18, 2018 (BSS) – Awami League President Sheikh Hasina today
expressed her resolve that the GDP growth will be increased to 10 percent in
the next five years while the per capita income will be over $5,479 by 2021.
“Bangladesh will be a middle income country in 2021, the year when the
golden jubilee of our country will be celebrated. The per capita income of
the people of Bangladesh will be over $5,479,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina at a function at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel here
announced the manifesto of the ruling Awami League in presence of a cross
section of people, including political leaders, artistes, media persons,
leaders of business community and representatives of developing partners and
foreign diplomats.
The AL chief said in 2041, Bangladesh would emerge as a developed
country in the comity of nations while the poverty rate will come down
towards zero.
“Today’s Bangladesh is financially strong. Small shock cannot stop the
progress of Bangladesh,” she added.
Sheikh Hasina said in 2015, the World Bank gave Bangladesh the status of
a lower middle-income country while in March 2018, the United Nations
promoted Bangladesh as a developing country.
She said the per capita income rose to $1,751 from $543 in 2006, the
foreign currency reserve increased from $3 billion to over $33 billion,
poverty rate decreased to 21.8 percent from 41.5 percent in 2006.
“Bangladesh is one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of
economic progress,” she said adding that over the last ten years, the size of
GDP of Bangladesh has increased by more than 5 times to over 22.50 lakh crore
from Taka 4.82 lakh crore.
As per the World Bank statistics, Sheikh Hasina said the economy of
Bangladesh is the 31st based on purchasing power parity. According to the
HBSC projection, Bangladesh will be the world’s 26th largest economy by 2030.
Highlighting the eye-catching trend of some of the macro-economic
statistics, the Awami League President said the size of the budget in the
current fiscal year (2018-2019) has increased by about 7.6 times to Tk
4,64,573 crore which was only Taka 61,000 crore in the fiscal year 2005-06.
In the 2005-06, Sheikh Hasina said export earnings were only $10.52
billion. In the year 2017-18, it has increased to $36.67 billion. “We are
moving forwards with the goal of exporting $60 billion by 2021,”
She said AL’s 1996 to 2001 term was the golden period for the people of
Bangladesh. “The country had achieved unprecedented progress in the socio-
economic sector. At this time, we signed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace
Agreement and the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India. We
constructed Bangabandhu Bridge on the Jamuna River and acquired self-
sufficiency in food production,”
Besides, Sheikh Hasina said the then AL government launched various
welfare programs for the farmers, landless, destitute and helpless people.
“We introduced allowances for destitute people, widower, people with
disability, freedom fighters, houses for the old citizens, ‘Asharian’ project
for the shelter-less people and one house one farm project,”