Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday assured the private sector of providing all kinds of support, saying that her government wants to work more closely with the sector to speed up the country’s development. She also said a process is underway to enact the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Law with provisions for transparent process in selecting private partners for the implementation of PPP projects.
The premier made the remarks while inaugurating the two-day PPP Global Investors’ Forum: Bangladesh 2012 at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the morning. Hasina said the country is fortunate to have a very dynamic and vibrant private sector that is globally recognised for its innovativeness, adaptability, and resilience.
“For its [private sector] further flourishing, we are ready to provide all necessary materials and human resources,” she told her audience. The premier said in order to develop a robust PPP programme, the government has set up the PPP office at the Prime Minister’s Office to support the investors in implementing PPP projects.Bangladesh has been recognised as an investment-friendly country by the world, she said.
“I am proud to be able to say that recently there has been widespread recognition by the esteemed commentators of the prospects of Bangladesh to be the next engine of growth in the region,” she added.Despite global economic meltdown, Bangladesh has been achieving 6.5 percent GDP growth rate, and it has been possible owing to the government’s careful stewardship, she said.
Wishing the success of the forum, the premier said the event has brought together policymakers, regulators, development partners, lenders, investors to prepare recommendations.”We will seriously consider all the recommendations of this forum to fine tune our PPP programme further,” she added.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni were present at the function as special guests.Board of Investment (BoI) Executive Chairman SA Samad, World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein, ADB Country Director M Teresa Kho, among others, spoke at the function.
Source: The Daily Star, Dhaka