Yunus calls for self-reliance, says govt plans increasing incentives for AI-based job creation

As Bangladesh prepares for its graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said the nation must shift away from dependence and focus on becoming self-reliant.

He made the remark during a meeting of the National Steering Committee on implementing and monitoring the Smooth Transition Strategy at the Chief Adviser's Office yesterday.

To build skilled manpower and create more jobs in the ICT sector, the government will increase incentives for AI-based work. The incentive, which currently stands at 6%, will be raised, and a roadmap will soon be announced, said chief adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam in a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy after the steering committee meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Yunus said, "We must make it clear to ourselves that we no longer wish to remain dependent on others. We have to become self-reliant. Since we are currently dependent, our focus should be on freeing ourselves from that dependence as quickly as possible."

"To achieve this, we must change our habits," the chief adviser added, noting that self-reliance requires intelligence, hard work, and determination.

"Though difficult, there is joy in it. The 'new Bangladesh' we speak of is a self-reliant Bangladesh," Yunus said.

He added, "This nation has the capacity to stand on its own feet. Our youth and creativity are our strengths, and we must harness these. We must build a self-reliant economy and free the nation from dependency; we do not wish to live in servitude."

Bangladesh is set to graduate from LDC status in November next year, although business leaders want to defer it for a couple of years.

CA for resolving visa complexities

The Chief Adviser pointed out that some visa-related complications still exist, carried over from the previous government, and instructed the foreign ministry to take additional initiatives to resolve them.

Highlighting new labour market opportunities in Eastern Europe, the press secretary said that during Yunus's recent visit to New York, he met with the President of Albania and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, both of whom expressed interest in hiring Bangladeshi workers.

"The Chief Adviser stressed that visa complications must not stand as an obstacle to these new opportunities," Shafiqul said. Since most Eastern European countries do not have embassies in Bangladesh, many Bangladeshi workers have to apply for visas through embassies in New Delhi, India.

"This issue was discussed repeatedly at the meeting," he said, adding that the foreign ministry is already working on the matter and will take further coordinated measures to ensure smoother processing.

Quoting Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, Shafiqul said, "The non-performing loan ratio is around 24%. This is a result of the corruption during Hasina's rule, which we have not yet fully recovered from. However, there has been some progress — reserves have strengthened, and inflation has decreased over the past 12 months. It has not fallen below 7% due to rising rice prices, but prices have started to come down again, and we expect further improvement."

At the meeting, business leaders called for preferential trade agreements with various countries and uninterrupted gas supply to address post-LDC graduation challenges. They also emphasised the need for sector-specific skill development, Shafiqul said.

"There were extensive discussions at the meeting," he said. "The talks covered our preparations for LDC graduation." 

Three business representatives – Abdul Muktadir on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry association, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan, and Dhaka Chamber President Taskin Ahmed spoke at the meeting.

Shafiqul added that although the discussion centred on LDC graduation, business representatives mostly focused on the existing business environment. "We also discussed the import policy, which will soon be finalised for 2026–2028, and visa issues," he said.

The BGMEA president stressed the importance of man-made fibres and requested a continuous gas supply for the industry. He called for the regasification unit's quick completion and proposed setting up another land-based LNG terminal to support imports.

Representing the pharmaceutical sector, Abdul Muktadir said Bangladesh must move quickly into API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) production and develop skilled manpower. "Although there are many BBA and MBA graduates, we lack scientists," he said, also raising concerns over gas supply.

Shafiqul Alam said Bangladesh is negotiating free trade agreements with several countries as part of its LDC graduation preparations. "We are in talks with Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States. Negotiations with Malaysia have advanced. The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh will seek assistance from ADB and the World Bank to strengthen our capacity for these agreements."

He added, "Another topic of discussion was ICT. A large number of jobs are being created in this sector, although many are not visible. Previously, 6% incentives were provided for these jobs. Now there are discussions about increasing incentives for AI-based work. The Chief Adviser has said a roadmap will soon be announced to expand job creation and strengthen our capacity in this sector."

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, Agriculture And Home Adviser Lt General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud, and Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan attended the meeting.

Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser M Siraz Uddin Miah, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, Special Envoy on International Affairs to the Chief Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Posts, Telecommunications And Ict Ministry Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Principal Coordinator for SDGs Lamiya Morshed, and senior officials of the Economic Relations Division were also present.