Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the distinguished fellow of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), on Wednesday said Bangladesh has to play a leading role in international negotiations for sustainable development.“Bangladesh is expected to graduate from LDC (least developed country) category in 2024. Now, foreign low-cost financing should be continued for the environment and social sectors,” he said.
He was speaking at a media briefing on the launching of UNCTAD’s LDCs Report 2019 titled ‘The present and future of external development finance old dependence, new challenges’ at ERF auditorium in the city.
Debapriya said Bangladesh never failed to repay foreign loan. The country utilised foreign donations and loans in previous years.
“We’ve to ensure that we’re able to pay back loans in future too,” he added.
Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior Researcher Fellow of CPD, said Bangladesh’s tax-GDP ratio is significantly lower than the LDC average.
“The money laundered in 2015 was 36 percent of our total tax collected at the time, according to the report,” he said.
He noted that tax buoyancy and tax efforts are also very low compared to other LDC countries. Khan suggested increasing tax collection for reducing money laundering.
He said Bangladesh’s exposure to illicit financial flow is very high.
CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun and Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem also were present there, reports UNB.
