Govt to frame long term blueprint for becoming developed economy

The government will craft a long-term national development strategy, which can help Bangladesh join the league of developed economies, officials said Saturday.
Planning Commission officials said they have started working on formulating the Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP) 2100 placing importance on water and food security.
The Netherlands is providing Tk 870 million in aid to help Bangladesh finalise the BDP 2100.
"Bangladesh's development plan follows the current Perspective Plan 2021. The BDP will be a long-term plan which will give some strategic guidelines to ensure a sustainable developed nation," said chief of the General Economic Division (GED) Professor Shamsul Alam.
He said a Netherlands-based consulting firm has already been appointed to prepare the development plan.
First, there will be a study on 19 thematic areas for finalisation of the development plan, Prof Alam told the FE.
The General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission has been entrusted with preparation of the long-term development plan of Bangladesh.
Dr Taibur Rahman of the GED told the FE that each baseline study would review the current policy and planning processes and their problems, identify the priority areas, problems, knowledge gaps, international innovations/practices which might provide an alternative solution to the priority works, tentative scenario and holistic perspective with indication of possible interventions and solutions.
Prof Dr J.M. (Jaap) de Heer, team leader of the Netherlands-based consulting firm Twynstra Gudde, told the FE that the Delta Plan would mainly highlight the water and food security of the people for ensuring the sustainable economic growth of Bangladesh.
He said: "Bangladesh has the development strategies and policies which now need synchronisation among public and private sectors for ensuring the sustainable economic growth."
Prof Heer said the Netherlands has had a Delta Plan for making the country an economically vibrant nation in the long-term considering its climate change and environmental impact and water and food security.
Dr Rahman said under the long-term BDP 2100, the country's mid-term perspective plans would be formulated and all the development plans will be executed through the five-year plans of the government.
He said the government would also formulate a law to implement the long-term national development document BDP 2100 for ensuring its proper implementation.
Dr Rahman said a 19-member panel of experts, headed by Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, Vice Chancellor of University of the Asia Pacific, would review the plan document. A joint inter-governmental committee of Bangladesh and the Netherlands will assist the work.