IMF, World Bank need to undergo reforms: Speaker Shirin Sharmin

To meet the needs of developing nations, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) need to undergo reforms, Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said today (5 May). 

"The two Bretton Woods institutions – World Bank and IMF – were the project of the second world war. After the war, these institutions have been operating but they also bring some questions about the set of challenges in the existing world order. In this perspective, to meet the needs of developing nations, they need reforms," the speaker said while speaking at a seminar titled 'Navigating the Complexities of the Evolving Global Order for Development Pathways' held at a hotel in Dhaka.

The event took place on the first day of the two-day 'First Development Studies International Conference' co-organised by the Department of Development Studies of Dhaka University and Dainik Banik Barta.

Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury also said, "In the current global landscape, we are faced with a significant number of issues and conflicts of interest, which encompass several bilateral and international systems and institutions."

Wahiduddin Mahmud, a former advisor to the caretaker government of Bangladesh, said, "A regime with legitimacy and confidence, along with policies that enjoy broad public support, is unlikely to sacrifice its external economic interests on the global stage due to its domestic political affiliations."

The seminar was chaired by Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal. State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan attended the event as a distinguished guest.

RR Ganzevoort, rector of International Institute of Social Studies; Mushtaq Khan, professor of Economics at University of London; and Joe Devine, associate vice-chancellor of University of Bath, also spoke in the panel discussion at the seminar.

The organisers have announced that around 30 discussants will present a total of 31 research papers tomorrow.