Trillion-dollar dream becomes national goal
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said the government is pursuing a comprehensive plan to increase household incomes and transform Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy by 2034.
Speaking in Parliament in response to a written question from ruling party MP SM Jahangir Hossain of Dhaka-18, the minister noted that the country’s per capita income reached US$2,769 in the fiscal year 2024–25, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
He explained that the government’s plan is broad-based, targeting investment, employment generation, economic democratisation, the creative economy, and the sports sector, rather than focusing on a single area.
“We are simultaneously working on employment, investment, production, exports, remittances, skill development, social protection, and macroeconomic stability,” he said.
The minister highlighted several initiatives designed to boost income. Priority is being given to creating new jobs across production, construction, services, ICT, agro-processing, and small businesses to reduce unemployment and increase household earnings.
Measures are also being implemented to encourage private investment and industrialisation by simplifying business procedures, ensuring investor-friendly policies, and promoting production-focused industries.
To support SMEs and entrepreneurship, the government is improving access to finance, aiding new entrepreneurs, and encouraging participation from women and young people in local economic activities.
On the export front, efforts are being made to diversify products, explore new markets, and maintain existing ones, thereby increasing foreign earnings and industrial output.
The minister also stressed the importance of remittances, noting initiatives to expand overseas employment, enhance workers’ skills, and encourage legal channels for sending money home, which benefits rural economies and strengthens foreign exchange reserves.
Skill development and training programmes are being expanded to match domestic and international labour market demand, enabling workers to secure better-paying jobs.
Additionally, the government is focusing on agriculture, rural infrastructure, and agro-based economic activities to increase production and incomes at the grassroots level.
Some of these initiatives are already in progress in the 2025–26 fiscal year, while others will be implemented in short-, medium-, and long-term phases.
The minister expressed confidence that sustained efforts in employment, investment, exports, remittances, and skill development will raise per capita income, reduce unemployment, enhance purchasing power, and guide Bangladesh steadily toward its trillion-dollar economy target by 2034.
