Staff Reporter :
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Thursday said that he is facing a wide range of challenges beyond the scope of his ministry.
“Many criticize us and call us useless,” he said, adding, “It is fine if you criticize us, but this does not create a good impression externally. It harms our image.”
Speaking about the forthcoming budget at an event on Friday, he also said, “There has been talk of all sorts of tax cuts. We will have to answer questions about all this the day after the budget. But it is not easy to determine the preferences of the common man or social priorities. This time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could not impose what it wanted. We have reached a solution.”
Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the national finals of the Bangladesh Economics Olympiad 2025, held at Dhaka Residential Model College in the capital on Friday.
The event was presided over by Hossain Zillur Rahman, chairman of the organising committee and former caretaker government advisor.
Also present at the event were Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Masrur Arefin, managing director of City Bank; Sheikh Mohammad Maruf, managing director of Dhaka Bank; and Mohammad Ali, managing director of Pubali Bank, among others.
Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “Economics is an applied science. That’s why we are trying to make economics popular from the school and college levels. This year there were 20,000 participants. The Bangladesh Economics Olympiad is increasingly becoming a focal point of attention each year.”
Fahmida Khatun said, “Our growth rate has increased by 1 percent per decade. But not everyone has benefited from this growth. As a result, inequality has widened. This growth has not been adequate in creating employment. Youth unemployment has increased. For the past two and a half years, people have been suffering from high inflation. When the economy is driven in a one-sided political direction, society regresses.”
While presenting the keynote, Masrur Arefin said, “Perhaps there have not been significant achievements over the past nine months, but corruption and irregularities in the banks have come to a halt. Money laundering has ended. That is a big achievement. But political unrest has not subsided.”
In this seventh edition of the event, five participants were awarded at the national level from among 20,000 competitors across the country. They were presented with smartphones and laptops as gifts. These five will represent Bangladesh at the International Economics Olympiad in Azerbaijan.
