Although this figure is unmatched, Bangladesh has been able to achieve 8 percent GDP growth under his administration, he said.
While the global economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was ‘unfortunate’, according to Hasina, the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and the spate of sanctions and counter-sanctions, ‘rubbed salt in the wound’.
“As a result, inflation is rising around the world. Even developed or rich countries are struggling economically. They are taking measures to conserve electricity and fuel as the price of food and essential commodities has gone up.”
“Even under these circumstances, I can say that we have been able to keep Bangladesh in a stable position.”
Addressing concerns over the country’s economic situation, including the position of foreign exchange reserves, Hasina said attempts were being made to promote fear by misleading people. “When I formed the government in 1996, our [forex] Reserves were only $2.5 billion. We took the initiative to increase the amount. We came to power for the second time in 2009 and at that time we had only $5 billion in reserves. We were able to bring it down to $48 billion.”
Hasina pointed to travel and trade restrictions imposed during the pandemic as a reason for the reduction in foreign exchange reserves, while also highlighting the provision of free vaccination and other incentives to mitigate the impact of the disease.