Russia-Ukraine war making budget projections harder: Finance minister
The finance minister stressed that the most important thing in the next budget was reviving the economy from the current uncertainty
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war was putting new pressure on budgeting, making it difficult to make projections.
After attending a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement on Wednesday, Kamal said, "We have to make a lot of projections while formulating the budget. And assumptions are required for making projections. But it is not possible to make assumptions for projections in the current global situation."
The finance minister stressed that the most important thing in the next budget was reviving the economy from the current uncertainty.
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"How to keep the country's economy normal and dynamic – that will be the most important in the new budget," he said in response to a question from reporters.
"We want the war to end. The war broke out when the economy, which had already been damaged, was trying to recover."
Asked what steps would be taken in the budget to address the political impact caused by the record rise in prices of various commodities in the country, the minister said, "Why would political implications come with inflation? There is no politics here. People are united on how we can move forward in the existing situation. The main concern is how to deal with the challenging time."
He said taking the situation into consideration, the social safety net had been expanded for marginalised people.
When pointed out that the Pakistani government had decided to set up a fund for the poor to mitigate the effects of a rise in the price of fuel oil and gas and whether Bangladesh had any such plans, Kamal said, "This is also a matter of budget. There is no time to think about what Pakistan has done because their needs and wants may not be the same as ours."
He said Bangladesh would benefit when the Russia-Ukraine war stops.
"We can import everything from Russia and Ukraine directly, including fuel and fertiliser. However, there are some opportunities in these challenging times which can be used. Our exports to the United States have already begun to grow," he said.
