12-Member Committee Formed to Prepare White Paper on Economy

A 12-member committee has been formed to prepare a comprehensive "white paper" on the current state of Bangladesh's economy, outlining strategic recommendations for stabilization and sustainable development.

The committee, chaired by Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and convener of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, was announced by the Chief Adviser's Office on Wednesday.

This initiative follows the authorization of the committee by Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus a day earlier.

The committee members include leading economists and experts: Prof. AK Enamul Haque, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at East West University; Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of Business Initiative Leading Development; Imran Matin, Executive Director of BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University; Dr. Kazi Iqbal, Research Director at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS); Dr. M Tamim, Professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and former Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser (2008); Dr. Mohammad Abu Eusuf, Professor of Development Studies at Dhaka University; Prof. Mustafizur Rahman, Distinguished Fellow at CPD; Dr. Selim Raihan, Professor of Economics at Dhaka University and Executive Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM); Dr. Sharmind Neelormi, Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University; Dr. Tasneem Arefa Siddiqui, Former Professor of Political Science at Dhaka University and Founding Chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU); and Dr. Zahid Hussain, Former Lead Economist at the World Bank Dhaka office and renowned columnist.

The "white paper" will focus on stabilizing the economy, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and addressing challenges faced by Bangladesh as it transitions from the least developed country (LDC) status.