Bringing economy back on track top priority: Bangladesh interim finance adviser

DHAKA: The immediate task of Bangladesh's interim government is to bring the economy back on track so that it does not come to a standstill, finance and planning adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has said.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Ahmed was entrusted with the charge of the finance and planning ministries by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who announced the portfolios of his 16-member council of advisors on Friday.

The interim government was formed after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 following widespread protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

Talking to reporters on Saturday for the first time after assuming office, Ahmed said the government's priority is to restore the trust of common people in the banks while resuming the operations of the central bank.

"Then we'll work on bringing reforms," state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted him as saying.

"For various reasons, the country's economy has slowed down. Our goal will be to revive the economy as quickly as possible. Once the economy comes to a standstill, it becomes quite difficult to restart it. We do not want it to come to a halt," he said.

"There are various problems in the economy. There are issues with the banking sector, inflation, and many other complexities. We will need to work on all fronts," the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted him as saying.

Asserting that they have been given the responsibility during a "critical time" for the country, he said, "At this time, it's not just about law and order or security measures; opening banks, keeping ports operational—everything needs to be given equal importance."

He added that it would not take much time to resume the basic operations of the banking sector.

"Already the operations are there, but there were some deviations at the middle of the operations...the operations were not at all derailed, rather slowed down a little bit. We'll enhance the pace," he said.

He said the interim government wants to establish an "equal and just-based society" and to ensure increasing incomes while reducing inflation.

On Friday, the governor of Bangladesh Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons.

His resignation is part of a broader wave of departures from various institutions of the country following the recent fall of the Hasina-led government.

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan also tendered his resignation, five days after the fall of Hasina’s regime amid massive street protests and students marching towards the apex court demanding a revamp of the judiciary.

Over 230 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina government on Monday, taking the death toll to 560 since the anti-quota protests first started in mid-July.