Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041
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Making Vision 2041 a Reality PERSPECTIVE PLAN OF BANGLADESH 2021-2041 General Economics Division (GED) Bangladesh Planning Commission Ministry of Planning Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh March 2020 Making Vision 2041 a Reality PERSPECTIVE PLAN OF BANGLADESH 2021-2041 Prepared and Published by General Economics Division (GED) Bangladesh Planning Commission Ministry of Planning Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Cover Design & Text Layout Dr. Shamsul Alam General Economics Division (GED) Copyright General Economics Division, Bangladesh Planning Commission, March 2020 A Note on this Edition National Economic Council (NEC) approved this "Making Vision 2041 a Reality: PERSPECTIVE PLAN OF BANGLADESH 2021-2041" on February 25, 2020. This document is also available for general access in the website of Bangladesh Planning Commission: www.plancom.gov.bd Printed by TURTLE 67/D, Green Road, Dhaka-1205 "As a man, what concerns mankind concerns me. As a Bengalee, I am deeply involved in all that concerns Bengalees. This abiding involvement is born of and nourished by love, enduring love, which gives meaning to my politics and to my very being." Unfinished Memoirs: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman PRIME MINISTER GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH Message Bangladesh’s undisputed leader, the greatest Bangali of all times, our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the architect of our independence, who inspired us to fight a deadly war for independence for emancipation of our country. He dreamt of a poverty and hunger free Bangladesh, and a prosperous country with a high living standard for all of its citizens. In 2019, when we formed the government for the fourth time, we promised to our citizens that we will transform Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041 to achieve Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s dream. The dream of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib - a “Golden Bangladesh” is no more a myth. We have prepared ‘Vision 2041’ for the accomplishment of that dream and a 20 year long perspective plan to attain the goal. As we are celebrating the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, I am delighted to present the plan for ‘Making Vision 2041 a reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041’ for the people of our country. Between 1975 to 2009 with exception from 1995 -2001, the country was run by the anti-liberation forces and mired by anti-people socio-economic policies. To repair the damages, we adopted the charter of change and introduced ‘Vision 2021’. The document envisioned transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 that aimed to attain high growth, reducing poverty and inequality, improving human resources and environmental response action plan. For translating the political manifesto of the Awami League into an Action Plan, we prepared first ever ‘Bangladesh Perspective Plan 2010-2021’ identifying the long-term development priorities. Through 6th and 7th Five Year Plans, we have achieved an average GDP growth rate of 7%, attained most of the MDGs and graduated from low income country to lower-middle income status by 2015. We have also fulfilled all the UN threshold criteria for graduating from the Least Developed Country (LDC). The ‘Vision 2041’ has been adopted in line of ‘Vision 2021’ to provide impetus to the development dream of the nation. Its aim is to end absolute poverty and to be graduated into higher middle-income status by 2031, and eradicate poverty on way to becoming a developed nation by 2041. Learning from the experience of higher- middle and high-income countries, we will deliver all facilities of a modern city at the village level transforming our villages at the center point of development. The Perspective Plan 2021-2041 has been prepared to translate the policies and programmmes enshrined in the Vision 2041 into development strategies. This document is the development vision of the government of a prosperous Bangladesh, a strategic description of the goals and objectives and a roadmap for its implementation. The institutional basis of this plan is fourfold, such as, good governance, democratization, decentralization and capacity building. The main beneficiary will be the people of Bangladesh and they will be the key driving force of growth and transformation. I congratulate all concerned officials of the General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission for their committed efforts to prepare ‘Making Vision 2041 a Reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041’. My Government support will be unstinted and I call upon the people of all walks of life to come forward for implementation of this Vision. I invite all, irrespective of political affiliations, with a clarion call to be a part of this journey towards building a better future of a prosperous Bangladesh. Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu, Long live Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina M.A. Mannan, MP Minister Ministry of Planning Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Message I am greatly delighted to hear that “Making Vision 2041 a Reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041” is finally coming out as a published document. Ten years have passed since we formulated first Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-21 in which we envisaged to become a middle income country and to transform the country into a digital Bangladesh. We have prepared the document at a time when the nation celebrated the hundred birth anniversary of our father of the nation. Under the leadership of her daughter, our visionary leader Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh finds its pathway to move to prosperity while fostering the lives of its citizen. The second Perspective Plan 2021-2041 will be a landmark document over the next twenty years as it paves Bangladesh the way of becoming an upper middle income country by 2031 and a prosperous country by 2041 in the platinum jubilee of its birth. I admit that the task does not seem easy but if we work collectively with the spirit same as that we had when we fought liberation war, these goals will not be impossible to achieve. In the past decade, we have had tremendous success when it comes to socio-economic development but we have to keep in mind that there is no place for complacency. The world is moving faster and a few countries are outperforming us. We have huge population, but to transform them as asset, education and knowledge of ICT are sin qua non. In the last decade, the government took initiatives to make every service digital. The result has been obvious, now ICT is changing the lives of rural Bangladesh by making education and health, agriculture services more accessible to them. Apart from the above, we have to keep pace with the world by achieving the global agenda - called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will be implementing SDGs through the next two five year plans. We alone cannot attain the goals within the stipulated time that is why we need partnership and cooperation with both the developed and developing world through transfer of knowledge, technology, investment and trade. I would like to particularly thank General Economics Division (GED) for drafting and finalizing this document. I also want to pay gratitude to honorable Prime Minister for her guidelines, inspiration and adopting the Vision 2041. Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu, Long live Bangladesh M A Mannan, MP Dr. Shamsul Alam Member (Senior Secretary) General Economics Division (GED) Bangladesh Planning Commission A Prefatory Note I feel enormously happy that “Making Vision 2041 a Reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041” is finally being published. It particularly gives me immense pleasure that I have become a part of the history of long term Development Planning charting a path for two decades of transformation. Eleven years ago, I joined the General Economics Division (GED) as the Member. That time, I was assigned to lead the formulation of the first Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021: Making Vision 2021 A Reality to materialize the Vision 2021 which aims to see Bangladesh as the middle income country by 2021 among other important milestones such as deepening of information technology towards making a Digital Bangladesh. The first Perspective Plan contains 14 broad goals for a transformed Bangladesh. Ten years later, many of them have either been achieved or are on the verge of achieving goals. I feel highly privileged that the government has had full support for me over a decade long glorious journey with GED. In retrospection, during the last decade under my leadership, the role of GED as well as Planning Commission has somewhat brought back its heyday as in the period of reconstruction after the devastating damage in the liberation war – but in a different fashion. We moved from the era of reconstruction to that of transformation. The development context has changed considerably specially when Bangladesh has already achieved the status of lower middle income country and met all the criteria for graduating from Least Developed Country Status to a developing country status to be materialized by 2024. We have made achievement in MDGs and in the period of SDGs, we want to achieve rapid, inclusive and sustainable transformation for shared prosperity. “Making Vision 2041 a Reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041” is a genuine articulation of the government to transform the country from a lower middle income country to Upper Middle Income Country by 2031 and a high Income country by 2041 under World Bank Classification. The other juxtaposed goals are