Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Monday claimed that although the Russia-Ukraine war has affected the economy of Bangladesh, it would not put the macroeconomic stability of Bangladesh at a severe risk at the moment.
The Finance Minister told the parliament in response to a question from Safiul Islam of Dhaka-10 constituency.
The 17th session of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) began at 5:00pm Monday at the Sangsad Bhaban with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, "The military crisis between Russia-Ukraine is going to hit the economy of Bangladesh in the short and medium-term.
“But, what the outcome will be in the long run will depend on the tenure of the war. It seems that the crisis will have an impact on the economy of Bangladesh, but the macroeconomic stability of the country will not be put at a severe risk at the moment”, said the Finance Minister.
He said that alongside Russian military drive in Ukraine, economic sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus by the Western countries resulted in a devastating effect on the global economy. The crisis has destabilized the markets of fuel oil and natural gas.
Accordingly, the Russia-Ukraine crisis has also affected Bangladesh as well.
The Finance Minister hinted that the ongoing military crisis and sanctions might inevitably lead to a rise in prices of natural gas, crude oil, fertilizer, wheat, nickel, aluminum and important raw materials for electrical products and related other goods.
“This price hike will definitely increase global inflation. The rise in oil and gas prices could lead to higher inflation in the country due to an increase in transportation costs for food, consumer goods and industrial raw materials,” the Finance Minister warned.
Besides, he said, the crisis could also make payments for Bangladesh's garment exports to Russia complicated.
In replying to a question from Mohammad Habib Hasan of Dhaka-17 constituency, the Finance Minister said that in the first eight months of the current financial year, a loan agreement of 2,162 million US dollars has been signed with various development partners of the world. At this time, 2,854 million US dollars have been discounted from the current and previous contracts.
Replying to a question by Syed Abu Hossain, the Finance Minister said that the continuous high GDP growth of Bangladesh in the last decade was temporarily hampered due to the bad impact of COVID-19. In the last 2018-19 fiscal year, 7.8 percent growth was achieved, but in the fiscal year 2020-21, it has decreased to 6.94 percent due to coronavirus.
However, the overall economic situation in Bangladesh did not deteriorate much for the foresight and relentless leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina despite the outbreak of Corona. Rather, it has set a unique precedent in the world for dealing with the economic effects of the epidemic.
