The Finance Minister said these things to journalists after a meeting with IMF Mission Chief for Bangladesh and Hong Kong, Ivan Krzner, at the Secretariat on Monday (July 13).
Economy
IMF praises government's financial reforms and political accountability: Finance Minister
Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said that the basis on which the new program will be conducted has been presented to the IMF, and they have fully agreed with the proposed framework.
He said that maintaining the continuity of economic reforms, changes will be brought step by step considering the country's reality. Overnight large-scale reforms are not possible, and the IMF has agreed on this matter.
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The Finance Minister said that considering the overall economic situation of the country, when which reform will be implemented will be determined based on priority. Additionally, the IMF has given special importance to the public welfare responsibility of a political government. All economic decisions will be made keeping the interests of the people intact.
He informed that the IMF has expressed satisfaction with the visible progress in financial sector reforms, development of the stock market and capital market, and revenue collection during the four months of the current government. In particular, the significant success in tax collection in just four months for the first time in the country's history has been evaluated positively.
The Finance Minister further said that positive discussions have also been held on various government proposals to increase the tax-GDP ratio.
Regarding subsidies, he said that no specific conditions or detailed matters have been discussed yet. For now, discussions have been held on determining the basic structure of the new program. Detailed matters will come up for discussion in the next phase.
He informed that this discussion with the IMF is an ongoing process. Further discussions on this matter will take place during the World Bank's annual meeting in September or October. The IMF is satisfied with the reform activities of the current government, and the future program will be finalized based on that.