9cr people came out of poverty line in 8 yrs, says Muhith

Claiming that nearly 9 crore people came out of the poverty line over the last eight years, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said poverty removal continues to be the economic policy of Bangladesh for the next 10-15 years to bring down the poverty level to 7 percent.

“We’ve brought around 9 crore people out of poverty line. But we need to keep it in mind that still 3 crore people are below the poverty line. So, the poverty removal should be the objective of the country’s government for the last 10-15 years,” he said.

The minister came up with the comments while speaking at the concluding session of the three-day Envoys' Conference at a city hotel.

Muhith said Malaysia has the best performance in removing the poverty as it has brought down its poverty level to 7 percent.

“We had a notion that it’s enough if we can bring down the poverty level to 14-11 percent. But after the example of Malaysia, we now think we must cut down our poverty level to 7 percent. So poverty removal continues to be the economic policy for the next 10-15 years of the Bangladesh government, no matter which one is in power.”

He said poverty removal is Bangladesh’s economic policy, not poverty alleviation. “Because if the poverty is removed, the domestic market and demand will be expanded and that is what is now happening in Bangladesh.”

Coming to power in 2009, Muhith said, they took the first step to increase the domestic demand. “We got huge success following the policy and still we’re following the policy.”

The minister said though once the domestic demand of Bangladesh was only 14 percent, it now stands at 70 percent. “The market size has increased because of growing demand. Market will continue to expand if we continue to remove poverty.”

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh’s missions should have good relations with the commerce ministry as diplomacy and trade and commerce are now deeply interrelated. 

He focused on diversification of both the products and market of the country to boost the export earnings. “You (envoys) can play a pivotal role in this regard. 

The minister said the government is giving priority to some sectors and products, including IT, pharmaceuticals, leather and jute, for export. 

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said diplomacy has now become a strong means for the country’seconomic development.

He urged the Bangladesh envoys to work for economic development of the country and implementation of the Vision 2021 of the government. 

The minister said the envoys will have to work for creating market and more job opportunities abroad for the country’s both skilled and unskilled workers.

He also suggested that they engage themselves for ensuring welfare of the Bangladeshi workers abroad and take effective steps for resolving their problems.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam said the government has now a plan to hold such conference regularly at least at regional level every year.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said there were seven thematic sessions and five interactive sessions in the three-day conference.

Source: unb