Bangladesh seeks alternative financing to address $421b SDG funding gap: FinMin
The government is exploring alternative financing, including deeper capital-market participation and foreign investment, as traditional public funding falls short of the resources needed to meet the country’s development targets.
Bangladesh is turning to alternative sources of financing to help address a $421 billion funding gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said today (12 August).
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an SDG conference at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka, Khosru said the government could not rely solely on traditional public financing to meet the country's development needs.
"There is a limitation in traditional public financing. We are now talking about alternative financing because the global public finance architecture is changing," he said.
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He said Bangladesh is seeking to take advantage of the changing global financing landscape, including by developing the capital market and attracting foreign fund managers.
There is a limitation in traditional public financing. We are now talking about alternative financing because the global public finance architecture is changing.
"We are already moving forward with the capital market. Our foreign fund managers are coming. There are now many products through which we can partly fill the gap through alternative financing," Khosru said.
He also said the government is working to increase revenue by raising the tax-to-GDP ratio, expressing hope that the effort would ultimately succeed.
Govt seeks stakeholder input
Asked whether recommendations made by different stakeholders at the conference would be incorporated into government programmes, Khosru said the government would consider issues that are not already covered by its existing programmes.
"We note these through various channels. If there is anything that is not already covered by our programmes, we incorporate it," he said.
He said consultation with stakeholders is an important part of the government's work and that the process would continue. "We discuss and work with everyone."
Earlier, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki said SDG implementation should not be treated merely as an international obligation or an exercise in preparing reports. The government's main objective, he said, was to bring tangible improvements to people's lives.
Exclusion from public services raised
The conference also highlighted the difficulties faced by marginalised groups in obtaining national identity cards, which participants said prevented some people from accessing various government services.
Mohammad Wasim, a van driver from the Mazar Road area of Mirpur, said many homeless people in the area did not have national identity cards.
Ramisa Chowdhury, representing the transgender community, said many members of the community faced difficulties in obtaining national identity cards.
Sohanur Rahman, representing young people, said many members of the Manta community in Barishal also did not have national identity cards.
No one in Bangladesh should be denied the opportunity to have their voice heard, regardless of their identity or social position.
The three-day SDG conference was jointly organised by the General Economics Division of the Bangladesh Planning Commission and the Governance Innovation Unit of the Prime Minister's Office, with the Citizen's Platform also involved in the initiative.
The first session on the final day focused on "Inclusive Development, Reform and the Five-Year Strategic Framework for Development and the SDGs". Social Welfare Minister AZM Zahid Hossain attended the session as the chief guest, while Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue and convener of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, chaired it.
Civil society vows to monitor reforms
In his concluding remarks, Debapriya said no one in Bangladesh should be denied the opportunity to have their voice heard, regardless of their identity or social position.
He said civil society organisations had a responsibility to continuously convey people's concerns and demands to policymakers.
"We will see how much of the challenges presented by the minister are implemented over four years. We will also monitor how the five-year work progresses. We will keep watching every day what is being done and what is not being done," he said.
Debapriya said the Citizen's Platform would monitor the government's commitments and reform initiatives through its Reform Tracker and Manifesto Watch.
He said people are placing considerable expectations and trust in policymakers and urged the government to ensure that those expectations did not turn into disappointment.
