Govt forms panel for white paper on economy

The government yesterday formed a 12-member committee led by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), to prepare a white paper on the state of Bangladesh's economy.

The panel will hold its first meeting at the Planning Commission in Dhaka today.

The committee members include Professor AK Enamul Haque, dean of the faculty of business and economics at East West University, Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of Business Initiative Leading Development, Imran Matin, executive director of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development at BRAC University, Dr Kazi Iqbal, senior research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, and Dr M Tamim, a professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

The other members are Dr Mohammad Abu Eusuf, professor of the department of development studies at the University of Dhaka, Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD, Dr Selim Raihan, professor of the department of economics at the University of Dhaka, Dr Sharmind Neelormi, professor of the department of economics at Jahangirnagar University; Dr Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit; and Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank.

The interim government last week announced its decision to prepare the white paper so that strategic steps can be taken to stabilise the economy, reach the country's Sustainable Development Goals, and mitigate challenges after Bangladesh graduates from the group of least developed countries.

After a meeting with Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat on August 25, Debapriya said the panel would consider incorporating issues beyond its mandate depending on the situation.