CPD urges govt to tackle inflation, price spiral, BoP

FE Report The government should tackle the challenges of burgeoning inflation, price spiral, imbalance between income and expenditure, and pressure on balance of payment (BoP) for the sake of the country's economy, said distinguished CPD fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya Thursday. "One year ago, CPD warned the government of the increasing risks of the economy in its evaluation. Our suggestions were not taken into consideration. The steps being taken so far are half-hearted. The government still has a scope to face those challenges," he said. He was speaking at a press briefing at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) office on the eve of the two-daylong Fourth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES IV) that begins tomorrow (October 22) at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the CPD is organising the summit with the theme - ''Global Recovery, New Risks and Sustainable Growth: Repositioning South Asia." Dr Debapriya said 20 per cent of the world's total population live in South Asia region. The economy of SAARC is much better than other regions of the world. He said the region has a great potential for economic growth. However, poverty alleviation still remains a big task despite some economic progress in the region. He said political animosity and indifference are the main barriers on the way to foster regional cooperation in South Asia. The countries of the region will have to gear up their initiatives for necessary policy reforms and institution building in the coming days. Dr Debapriya also said there is a serious need to reflect on how the South Asian economies are going to reposition themselves collectively in the changing global scenario to attain political cohesion and inclusive economic growth. To face the challenges the South Asian countries need to focus on promotion of trade and investment, ensuring food and energy security, sustaining flow of foreign remittance, improving transport connectivity, managing water resources, and broadening the space of civil society in the process of development, he added. CPD Executive Director Prof Mustafizur Rahman said the aim of SAES IV is to create a platform for in-depth discussion, where the leading thinkers, scholars, policymakers, private sector representatives and other stakeholders of the region would be able to interact on the emerging issues, opportunities and challenges that South Asia is facing in a fast-changing world. He said Finance Minister A M A Muhith will be the chief guest on the first day of the summit. Sri Lankan senior minister for international monetary cooperation Dr Sarath Amunugama, and senior economic affairs adviser to the Afghan president Dr Sham L Bathija are expected to be present in the inaugural session of the summit. Video statement of Secretary General of SAARC Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed will also be presented. There will be 12 sessions during the two-day summit. Of which, three will be plenary sessions and nine workshop sessions. A total of 83 foreign delegates including ministers and parliament members are expected to participate in the summit. The previous three SAES were held in Colombo in 2008, in New Delhi in 2009 and in Katmandu in 2010. The co-organisers of the summit are Institute for Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS) of India, South Asia Centre for Policy Studies (SACEPS) and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) of Nepal, and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) of Pakistan. According to the organisers, the SAES IV in Dhaka will be another opportunity to discuss a number of recent developments and key issues, emerging particularly in the context of repositioning South Asia amid the post-crisis global context and new developments in various fronts. Recommendations from the SAES IV will be forwarded to the appropriate focal points during the preparatory process of the 17th SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Addu in the Maldives on November 10 -11, 2011. Senior research fellow of CPD Khondaker Golam Moazzem and head of research Fahmida Akter, among others, were present on the occasion.