Target higher growth for middle-income status: envoy

Bangladesh will find it difficult to obtain the middle-income status by 2021 with the GDP growth lying between 5.5 percent and 6 percent, European Union Ambassador William Hanna said yesterday.
The growth rate has to be improved to at least 8-10 percent soon to achieve the middle-income target, he said.
The EU envoy spoke at a meeting with the leaders of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in the port city.
Hanna said the 'investment climate' in the country has to be improved more to ensure more attraction to foreign investors and entrepreneurs.
Proper policymaking for the country's major sectors, including RMG and shipbuilding, could be the key to ensuring proper flow of investment, Hanna said.
Political violence is surely hampering the country's economy as the foreign investors get frustrated as it causes losses to business, he added.
The EU will observe the upcoming general election if the country's election commission desires, he said. The EU wants the election to be free from violence, he added.
The government and the country's major bodies in the RMG sector have to be proactive in tightening compliance standards at factories.
The recent fires at RMG factories have worried the foreign investors as well as the EU.
The EU is mainly focusing on the country's education, especially in primary level, skill development of workers in the RMG and shipbuilding sectors, ideal nutrition and working for poor people, he added.
Morshed Murab Ibrahim, president of CCCI, and Mabubul Alam, senior vice-president, were also present. .
Hanna also visited the Chittagong Export Processing Zone with his team earlier in the day.