bdnews24.com :
The executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has called for updating laws, improving rules, and simplifying the procedures to woo “massive” investments needed to reach the “dual goals” ahead of the country.
“We have to go far and go fast,” Kazi M Aminul Islam said on Friday at the opening of a two-day strategic workshop with relevant government agencies and private stakeholders at a Bahubal resort in Sylhet.
The state entity, which was formed through the merger of the Privatisation Commission and the Board of Investment last year, organsied the workshop to devise “action plans” on how to place Bangladesh among the top 100 countries in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ rankings in order to make it an attractive destination for global businesses. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, and Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury were among those participating in the workshop that also included ministry officials, World Bank representatives and business leaders.
“We have laws which are hackneyed, rules which are unnecessary and sometimes mindless and meaningless… processes which are redundant and procedures which are cumbersome,” the BIDA executive director said.
All of those have been reflected in the ease of doing business ranking in which Bangladesh is 176th in the world, he said. The BIDA, he said, wanted the ranking to go up at least 76 spots within 2020.
The prime minister set a goal for achieving upper middle-income country status by 2021, he said. The next goal was to turn Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041. Bangladesh also had sustainable development goals to be reached before 2030. “So we have dual goals – national and global – to achieve. And these are not easy targets to reach. Our job is difficult but it’s doable,” he said, adding that at the end of the workshop they would come up with an action plan. “Everything is possible provided we join our hands together,” he told the officials, attending the workshop.
Cabinet Secretary Shafiul Alam said changing the “mindset” of government officials was integral for welcoming investors. “Initially we try to say ‘no’ to everyone.
The executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has called for updating laws, improving rules, and simplifying the procedures to woo “massive” investments needed to reach the “dual goals” ahead of the country.
“We have to go far and go fast,” Kazi M Aminul Islam said on Friday at the opening of a two-day strategic workshop with relevant government agencies and private stakeholders at a Bahubal resort in Sylhet.
The state entity, which was formed through the merger of the Privatisation Commission and the Board of Investment last year, organsied the workshop to devise “action plans” on how to place Bangladesh among the top 100 countries in the World Bank’s ‘ease of doing business’ rankings in order to make it an attractive destination for global businesses. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, and Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury were among those participating in the workshop that also included ministry officials, World Bank representatives and business leaders.
“We have laws which are hackneyed, rules which are unnecessary and sometimes mindless and meaningless… processes which are redundant and procedures which are cumbersome,” the BIDA executive director said.
All of those have been reflected in the ease of doing business ranking in which Bangladesh is 176th in the world, he said. The BIDA, he said, wanted the ranking to go up at least 76 spots within 2020.
The prime minister set a goal for achieving upper middle-income country status by 2021, he said. The next goal was to turn Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041. Bangladesh also had sustainable development goals to be reached before 2030. “So we have dual goals – national and global – to achieve. And these are not easy targets to reach. Our job is difficult but it’s doable,” he said, adding that at the end of the workshop they would come up with an action plan. “Everything is possible provided we join our hands together,” he told the officials, attending the workshop.
Cabinet Secretary Shafiul Alam said changing the “mindset” of government officials was integral for welcoming investors. “Initially we try to say ‘no’ to everyone.
