Policymakers seem anti-FDI: Economists
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country has not been increasing despite numerous discussions about it due to the activities of the policy makers, said economists.
"Policymakers seem to be anti-FDI," said AKM Abdullah, senior financial sector specialist of the World Bank, at a programme organised by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) in the capital yesterday.
Echoing his statement, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, "Permissions from 43 organisations are needed for making investments. Attesting a copy of a document costs money. They (bureaucrats) forget about facilitating trade when they become secretaries."
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Referring to an analysis, the foreign minister said, "Cent per cent investment proposals in the USA are realised, but only three out of 100 proposals are realised in Bangladesh."
The foreign minister also highlighted various initiatives and achievements of the government during the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period.
The programme was organised to unveil four books – "Economics Crosscurrents", "A Fairy Tale: Autobiographical Stories", "Stories in Memory of Syed Mujtaba Ali", and "Economic Essays" – written by Dr Abdullah Shibli, a former teacher of Dhaka University who also worked at the World Bank and the Harvard University.
PRI Executive Director Dr Ahsan H Mansur presided over the programme.
