Publication
- An article titled “Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development with Special Reference to Bangladesh” was published in Janata Bank Journal of Money, Finance and Development, Volume 5 Number 1.
- A full page interview was published in The Bengali Daily Newspaper Desh Rupantor. The interview dealt with recent developments in the banking sector of Bangladesh.
- A three-page interview report on government revenues was published in The Bengali Daily Newspaper Jugantor on 21 May, 2019.
- An interview was published in The Bengali Daily Newspaper Desh Rupantor. The interview dealt with the development priorities that should be addressed in the upcoming budget.
প্রবৃদ্ধির জন্য বেসরকারি বিনিয়োগ বাড়াতে হবে
ড. এ বি মির্জ্জা আজিজুল ইসলাম
আগামী ২০১৯-২০ অর্থবছরের বাজেটে কোন কোন খাতে বেশি গুরুত্ব দেওয়া উচিত, তা দেশ রূপান্তরের কাছে প্রকাশ করেছেন সেনা সমর্থিত তত্ত্বাবধায়ক সরকারের নাজুক অর্থনৈতিক পরিস্থিতিতে বাজেট প্রণয়নকারী ড. এ বি মির্জ্জা আজিজুল ইসলাম। তিনি বলেছেন, বাজেটে এমন সব ব্যবস্থা থাকতে হবে, যাতে হাত গুটিয়ে রাখা বেসরকারি খাত বিনিয়োগে আগ্রহ দেখায়। দারিদ্র্য হ্রাসে করণীয়, কর-জিডিপির অনুপাত বাড়ানো, কর্মসংস্থান সৃষ্টির পাশাপাশি শিক্ষা ও স্বাস্থ্যসেবার মানোন্নয়নে গুরুত্ব দেওয়ার কথা বলেছেন তিনি। সাক্ষাৎকারটি নিয়েছেন নিজস্ব প্রতিবেদক মামুন আব্দুল্লাহ
Other Activities
- 02 May: An interview with Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam was telecast by Dipto television. The interview dealt with the current situation in the capital market and policy initiatives needed to arrest the continuing fall in the index and restore investors’ confidence.
- 04 May: Mirza Azizul Islam presided over a seminar on “Role of Zakat and tax in Reducing Income Inequality”. The Planning Minister Mr. M.A. Mannan was the Chief Guest. Dr. Abdul Mazid, former Secretary Internal Resource Division presented the keynote paper on the subject. Among the other participants were Justice Abdur Rouf, former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. Niaz Rahim, Director Rahim Afroz Limited and Mr. Nasiruddin former Chairman National Board of Revenue.
- 04 May: Mirza Azizul Islam delivered a lecture in Dhaka University organized by Pathshala. The issues discussed in the lecture were the lessons of the development experience of East/South-East Asian countries for Bangladesh. The lessons related to high domestic savings and investment, emphasis on exports, role of the government in providing energy, infrastructure and market relevant education and skill formation and insulation of the economic bureaucracy from undesirable political influence.
- 12 May: Mirza Azizul Islam was interviewed by Jamuna television.
- 13 May: Mirza Azizul Islam was interviewed by Gazi television (GTV).
- 13 May: Mirza Azizul Islam was interviewed by TV Channel 71.
The above three interviews dealt with issues relating to upcoming budget, the nagging problems in the banking sectors and stagnant capital market.
- 15 May: Mirza Azizul Islam participated in a discussion meeting on the upcoming budget convened by the Finance Minister. The other participants included Chairman, National Board of Revenue, Governor Bangladesh Bank, Chairman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and a number of Secretaries to the Government as well as former Governors/Deputy Governors of Bangladesh Bank. The discussions highlighted the need to raise tax/GDP ratio without increasing the rates of taxes, eliminate excise tax on bank deposits, provide encouragement to venture capital as well as SMEs and increase allocations for health, education and social safety net.
- 17 May: An interview with Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam was telecast by Boishakhi television. The subject matter was the likely impact of the recent decision to give special facilities to loan defaulters on the banking system.
- 20 May: An interview with Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam was telecast by News 24 TV Channel. The recent decisions of Bangladesh Bank regarding special privileges to loan defaulters were reviewed.
- 24 May: An interview with Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam was telecast by News 24 TV Channel. The interview reviewed the implications of recent circular issued by Bangladesh Bank asking government agencies to withdraw their deposits from banks which have charged lending interest rate higher than 9%.
- 25 May: Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam was distinguished discussant in a seminar on expectations regarding FY20 budget organized by The Bengali Daily Newspaper Kaler Kontho. The Finance Minister was the Chief Guest and Chairman National Board of Revenue (NBR) was the Special Guest. The participant included a number of former Governors/Deputy Governors of Bangladesh Bank as well as leaders of several sectoral trade bodies. The discussion dealt with the proposed macro targets of the budget and suggested that the targets should have a mix of ambition and feasibility. Suggestions were offered to deal with some problems faced by particular sectors.
- 26 May: Mirza Azizul Islam delivered a lecture on “Macroeconomic Performance of Bangladesh: Achievements and Challenges” at Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management (BIGM). The participants were selected government as well as private sector officials. The lecture reviewed the achievements of Bangladesh in respect of GDP growth, poverty alleviation and price stability over time and also in comparison with other Asian countries. The challenges ahead in sustaining the achievements and the policy imperatives to deal with them were also analyzed.
- 27 May: Mirza Azizul Islam was the lone discussant in a TV talk-show broadcast by NTV. The discussions dealt with the challenges that the upcoming budget should seek to address. The challenges include stagnation of private sector investment, rising unemployment among educated youth, increased inequality of income distribution and falling annual rate of poverty reduction. In addition, the failure of the government today’s targeted revenue as well as to implement annual development program during the past many years should also be addressed with remedial policy initiatives.
- Mirza Azizul Islam was interviewed by the following TV Channels: the interviews dealt with various aspects of the upcoming budgets;
30 May: Channel I
31 May: NTV
3 June: SATV
9 June: Asian TV