Manwar Hossain

Bangladesh has not been hit by a single cyclone. It has faced a series of shocks, back-to-back, leaving little time to rebuild. First came Covid-19. Then global commodity spikes, freight disruptions, energy volatility and unpredictable supply chains. Power shortages became routine, the taka weakened, reserves fell and confidence among international lenders wavered.

When global manufacturers shifted capacity out of China, Vietnam treated it as an emergency opportunity. Bangladesh, despite the conferences, the panels and decades of ambition, did not just underperform. In plain words, we failed.

Today, our economy is steered by powerful bodies

Historically, governments have used construction to fight stagflation and recession

Across the world, financial sectors have faced collapse and come back stronger. The United States rebuilt trust after the savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s. India restored confidence in its non-bank financial companies through governance reform and liquidity support. In Bangladesh, Pubali Bank, City Bank and Eastern Bank once struggled but reinvented themselves through strong management and transparent governance.

Bangladesh must rethink how it finances its infrastructure. The current system is too weak to bear the weight of an aspiring middle-income nation. Highways, ports, power grids, water systems, health facilities, education, digital networks, business districts and technology hubs all demand massive investment if the country is to become a developed economy.

Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress over recent decades, driven by exports, remittances and a dynamic private sector. Yet in a world of growing volatility from geopolitical shifts, energy price shocks and currency swings, resilience alone is no longer enough. Safeguarding our economic stability must begin with how we manage foreign exchange reserves.