Country's economy is fine except for remittance: Finance minister

Everything else in the country's economy is fine except for the remittance flow, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said today.

Remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis is lower than expected, the finance minister also said while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the Public Finance Management Summit 2023, organised by the Ministry of Finance.

"If remittances increase, the crisis in reserves will be alleviated. Many other problems will also be solved," he said.

"Right now there are one crore expatriates in different countries of the world. However, targeted remittance targets are not being met from the regions where expatriates live," Kamal added.

Meanwhile, he instructed ministry officials related to remittance to develop new ideas on how to increase remittance inflow.

Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder and World Bank's Country Director Abdoulaye Seck were present during the summit organised at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

The country director of the World Bank said, "Reforms in public finance management are necessary for the strong development of the economy. Poverty will be reduced only if reform is done here. Transparency and accountability will be ensured. Social security beneficiaries including senior citizens of the country will benefit."

The day-long summit was attended by various levels of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh Bank and World Bank Office in Dhaka.

In the second phase of the summit, the officials discussed where and how emphasis should be placed on the government's accounting system, reporting, exemptions and expenditure.