Bangladesh needs a new round of productivity-enhancing reforms to restore high and sustainable growth, as macroeconomic stabilisation alone will not suffice, said Zaidi Sattar, chairman of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI).
He identified various reform pillars, including rationalising the tariff structure, revamping trade openness, overhauling the tax system, and improving the investment climate.
Other pillars include reforming the energy sector, restructuring state-owned enterprises, promoting foreign direct investment, and investing in critical infrastructure.
Together, these outline a pathway toward restoring competitiveness and growth, he said at PRI's monthly macroeconomic insights session, "Restoring growth through productivity reforms: pre-budget priorities."
He said that despite resilience through the pandemic, global inflation, geopolitical disruptions, and energy market volatility, growth has slowed.
He added that investment momentum has weakened, inflation remains elevated, and fiscal, financial, and energy sector vulnerabilities continue to constrain policy space.
The PRI chairman also pointed to encouraging signs, including recovering exports, strong remittance inflows, improved foreign exchange reserves, and purchasing managers' index indicators suggesting pockets of resilience.
He said that strong underlying potential remains if the right policy choices are made.
"We strongly believe that high and sustainable growth is a necessary condition for job creation and poverty reduction," Sattar said.
He said that the FY2026-27 budget must balance macroeconomic discipline with growth recovery by addressing revenue mobilisation, expenditure efficiency, subsidy management, debt servicing, and public investment effectiveness.
Sattar also cautioned that post-LDC transition demands export diversification, deeper integration into global value chains, and a modern industrial policy framework.
"Bangladesh can no longer rely solely on traditional drivers of growth; future competitiveness will depend on productivity, innovation, policy predictability, and openness to investment and technology," he said.
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, also spoke at the event, while PRI Principal Economist Ashikur Rahman presented the keynote.
