DHAKA, July 19, 2023 (BSS) - Mentioning that the country's economy is running ahead despite the pressure of global recession, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the government is taking required measures to face the next challenges of becoming a developing nation after 2026.

"The dollar crisis is all over the world and it is also applicable to us, even though I will say that the country's economy keeps running," she said at the ruling Awami League-led 14-party grand alliance meeting held at her official Ganabhaban residence this evening.

Sheikh Hasina, also President of the Bangladesh Awami League (AL), said that there will have some advantages after Bangladesh becomes a developing nation alongside some challenges.

 In this connection, she said a sub-committee, headed by the Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, is working to scrutinise the opportunities and challenges after Bangladesh's full graduation as a developing nation.

"All the issues (regarding being a developing nation) are being settled down through discussion," she added. 

The Premier said that the government is pulling the country ahead, accommodating all aspects of society and that is why today's Bangladesh is a role model of development for the entire world.
 

Highlighting the corruption during the regime of the BNP, the Prime Minister said that the government is trying to bring back the money siphoned off by BNP leaders to different countries.
 
"The money of many BNP leaders still remains frozen (in foreign banks). We've been trying to bring that money back gradually," she said.
 
Criticising the family of Khaleda Zia for their corruption, she said the World Bank stopped financing the BNP during their regime due to corruption in the road sector.

Sheikh Hasina said that the corruption committed by Khaleda Zia's two sons - Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko - came to light even before the foreigners and FBI agent testified against Tarique in a money laundering case.
 
The government was able to bring back Tk 40 crore from the money that they (Tarique and Koko) laundered to foreign countries, she said, adding "But, the problem is that bringing back the money from the countries where they deposited is a difficult matter. The countries don't want to release the money."

Focusing on her government's success, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh has significantly advanced in every sector since 2009.
"We can at least claim that Bangladesh has changed a lot in 14 and half years. You can definitely realise it as well," she said.
 
Sheikh Hasina said her government has successfully brought the poverty rate down to 18.6 percent now from 41 percent in 2006, while the extreme poverty rate to 5.7 percent from 25.1 percent.
 
She said the government has been able to boost the production of foods, including crops, fish, meat and vegetables, as well as provide free semi-pucca houses to 600,000 landless families apart from reaching the electricity facility for every house by increasing power generation capacity significantly.

The Premier said there is no shortage of rice and other crops in Bangladesh.

 "We've achieved electricity generation capacity of 25,000 megawatts within the last 14 and half years," she said.
 
Mentioning that the government is setting up 100 special economic zones to generate employment, she said the unemployment rate has come down to only 3 percent in the country.
 
She said the government continues its steps to create entrepreneurs by providing different stimulus packages and imparting training to the youths to further bring down the unemployment rate.
 
"We've taken and implemented massive works not only for the infrastructural development of Bangladesh but also for its socio-economic uplift," she said.
 
Sheikh Hasina said the country's people at first realised that people can get services from the government and only the Awami League government has ensured that whenever the party assumed power. 
 
Bangladesh deviated from its ideology when the BNP-Jamaat alliance assumed power in 2001 and they denigrated the nation across the globe, she added. 
 
She said AL assumed power in 2009 after winning the national election in 2008 and, since then, it has been in state power and "Today I can say that in the last 14 and a half years Bangladesh has been changed tremendously".