The new government: A rare opportunity for reform

Bangladesh's government has taken office after political upheaval, economic pressure, weakened institutions and frustration with the state. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman faces a test: whether disruption can produce durable reform rather than another cycle of promises, patronage and institutional decline.

There is a historical parallel, but it should be considered in policy terms, not as inherited political credit. Under President Ziaur Rahman, the government-facilitated collaboration between Desh Garments and South Korea's Daewoo in 1979 helped establish Bangladesh's export-oriented garment industry. Overseas employment also became a source of jobs, remittances and foreign exchange.

The lesson is not that history will repeat itself. Governments can open economic pathways by identifying opportunities, removing barriers and building systems that outlast leaders. Tarique Rahman's statement, "We have a plan", will matter only if it becomes measurable, time-bound and visible in citizens' lives.

Balance the party without politicising the state

The first test is political. BNP activists endured years of exclusion, repression and uncertainty. Their grievances cannot be dismissed after the party's return to power, but they cannot be addressed through government contracts, police influence, administrative postings, land control or preferential access. Compensating party loyalty through the state would reproduce practices the BNP has criticised.

The party needs channels: elected grassroots committees, policy forums, political training, constituency research teams, citizen help desks, volunteer programmes, grievance systems and structured communication with ministers and parliamentarians. These can keep members active without granting informal authority over public administration.

An institutional firewall is essential. The party may mobilise people, explain reforms, gather feedback and develop future leaders. The government must recruit, procure, regulate and deliver services according to law and merit. Responsibility and accountability must be demonstrated through decisions, not slogans.

Keeping the party engaged while protecting civil-service independence would show that the government serves the country, not only those carrying the ruling party's identity.

Climate: Turn vulnerability into investment

Bangladesh should not approach climate change only as a vulnerable country seeking assistance. Environmental problems are increasingly becoming investable activities through renewable energy, carbon markets, green and blue bonds, climate-smart agriculture, circular businesses, resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

International climate funds and private investors seek credible projects. Bangladesh's weakness is not a lack of ideas, but limited capacity to create bankable proposals. Investors require feasibility studies, reliable data, clear land and carbon rights, environmental safeguards, measurable returns, credible monitoring and transparent benefit-sharing.

The government should establish a national Climate Investment and Project Preparation Facility. It could develop proposals for mangrove restoration, alternate wetting and drying in rice cultivation, biochar, rooftop solar, solar irrigation, waste management, coastal resilience, electric mobility and blue-economy infrastructure. It should help public agencies meet financiers' technical and reporting standards.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the Least Developed Country category on 24 November, 2029. Graduation will not end all climate finance, but opportunities linked to that status will narrow. Green leadership should be judged by projects financed, jobs created and income reaching vulnerable communities.

Dr Md Saimum Parvez, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Environment, Forests and Climate Change, has reiterated that "Tarique Rahman is becoming a green prime minister through his actions."

But becoming a truly green prime minister will require a permanent system that can convert Bangladesh's climate vulnerability into investment, employment, exports and community income.

Education

Education reform cannot be reduced to textbooks or examinations. Bangladesh must restore learning and repair a weakened social culture. Students need reading, discussion, discipline, mutual respect and civic responsibility, but values cannot be delivered through outdated lectures alone.

Schools and colleges should use sports, debate, volunteering, arts, community service, environmental activities and student-led clubs to develop teamwork, empathy, leadership and digital responsibility. Universities should be encouraged to solve practical national problems. Government agencies should test and purchase successful Bangladeshi technologies, because research remains ceremonial unless the state uses local knowledge.

Employment

The state cannot give every young person a government job. It must build an ecosystem where information, training, finance and market access extend beyond Dhaka and personal connections.

The International Labour Organization has estimated youth unemployment at 16.8 per cent, while 30.9 per cent of young people are not in employment, education or training. A Prime Minister's Youth Programme should connect them with jobs, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, overseas employment, agriculture, volunteering and green skills. A person in a remote upazila should receive the same opportunity information as someone in Dhaka.

Private companies should partner with universities, polytechnics and training institutions, finance laboratories, design courses and train students for specific industries. Many training centres, digital facilities and public buildings remain underused. Rather than constructing more, the government should convert suitable sites into district opportunity hubs with co-working spaces, technical laboratories, agricultural services and start-up support. Each needs accountable management and a path to financial sustainability.

The measure of success should be placements, businesses created and incomes raised, not buildings inaugurated.

Make life easier for the middle class

Bangladesh's middle class receives limited policy attention. Many households earn too much for social assistance but remain fragile because rent, education, healthcare, transport, taxes and utility bills consume most income. One illness, job loss or emergency can erase years of progress.

A Middle-Class Ease Agenda should include affordable health insurance, tax relief for education and medical expenses, reliable public transport, childcare support, rental-housing finance, predictable utility pricing and faster digital public services. These would reduce everyday cost and uncertainty rather than offer occasional political benefits.

International climate funds and private investors seek credible projects. Bangladesh's weakness is not a lack of ideas, but limited capacity to create bankable proposals. Investors require feasibility studies, reliable data, clear land and carbon rights, environmental safeguards, measurable returns, credible monitoring and transparent benefit-sharing.

Responsible credit should be included. Loans for homes, education, healthcare, vehicles, small businesses and essential improvements should be simpler, faster and more transparent. Decisions should rely on verified income, transaction history and repayment capacity rather than connections, excessive paperwork or informal influence.

Access must be matched by discipline. Borrowers need clear terms, reasonable rates and restructuring during genuine hardship, while deliberate non-payment must carry consequences. Easier lending should not encourage default or expose families to predatory debt.

Well-regulated consumer and small-business credit can support housing, education and enterprise, expand demand and generate jobs. The objective is not reckless consumption, but greater confidence for self-reliant citizens without undermining financial stability.

Make Bangladesh a reliable destination for investment

Bangladesh can be promoted as an investment destination, but marketing cannot substitute for reform. Investors need stable taxation, reliable energy, efficient transactions, enforceable contracts, secure profit repatriation and protection from arbitrary bureaucratic decisions.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said, "Without investment there will be no growth, no employment and no development." The government must convert international interest into commitments and operating businesses. An empowered investor problem-solving body should impose deadlines on agencies, resolve inter-ministerial complications and support strategic investors from proposal to operation.

Approvals should be digital and time-bound, while specialised commercial courts should settle disputes quickly. Investors must have confidence that legally invested money will remain secure beyond the tenure of one government. That requires predictable rules, not discretionary assurances.

Make farming aspirational

Agriculture and agro-processing could become a major growth engine, but farming should not be treated as an occupation for people without alternatives. Agriculture Minister Amin-ur Rashid Yasin has said the government's programme aims to ensure that "farmers' produce is marketed properly, priced fairly and they are involved in the export process". He has also outlined technology-driven systems, contract farming, direct market connections and agro-based export zones.

Young people can be drawn into agriculture through agritech fellowships, start-up finance, mechanisation services, crop insurance, cold-chain investment, modern branding and guaranteed market links. Dedicated agro-processing zones could connect farmers with researchers, processors, exporters and foreign investors. Bangladesh should aim to sell recognised brands of processed food, fish, fruit, spices, jute products, honey and other natural goods, rather than relying mainly on raw produce.

Find the next economic sectors

Garments and overseas employment reshaped Bangladesh's economy. The present government must identify the sectors capable of driving the next 30 years, including the care economy, skilled migration, medical services, climate technology, regional logistics, agro-processing, creative industries, digital services, green manufacturing and the circular economy.

Bangladesh should prepare nurses, technicians, caregivers, welders, machine operators, agricultural specialists and climate professionals for international markets. Migration policy should focus on recognised skills, fair recruitment and worker protection rather than simply increasing the number of people sent abroad.

Make Bangladesh a regional convening power

Bangladesh should also seek a practical role in regional dialogue. President Ziaur Rahman was among the early advocates of the initiative that became the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Political disputes have weakened Saarc, but cooperation in education, scientific research, technology, climate resilience, public health, agriculture and youth exchange need not remain paralysed.

Scholarships, university partnerships, research programmes and professional exchanges could rebuild trust among South Asian societies. Bangladesh's location between South and Southeast Asia, its Bay of Bengal access and its links with Saarc and Asean economies give it a basis for convening negotiations, sharing knowledge and coordinating regional responses to common problems.

Such ambitions require diplomatic competence and consistent follow-through. Hosting meetings is not leadership by itself; useful agreements and functioning mechanisms are.

For a party that presents itself as practical rather than rigidly ideological, good governance should be the operating principle. BNP's success will not be measured by replacing one group of beneficiaries with another. It will be measured by equal application of the law, open access to opportunity and public services that work without partisan mediation.

The government's task is not merely to administer the existing state. It is to rebuild credibility and create institutions capable of implementing policy. "We have a plan" must become evidence of implementation and results. The opportunity exists, but it will be lost unless rhetoric is matched by discipline, competent execution and public accountability.

Hasibul Islam Rafi. Sketch: TBS

Hasibul Islam Rafi is a Climate and Development Practitioner and a former International Consultant for UNDP Asia and the Pacific.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.