In 2023, Bangladesh will surpass neighboring countries India-Pakistan in terms of prosperity, but it is far behind the countries in terms of freedom. Two foreign organizations based in Dhaka have published a report highlighting the position of Bangladesh in the index of freedom and prosperity.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Asia Foundation jointly organized the Prosperity and Good Governance Conference at the US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday (April 16) to share the findings of the Atlantic Council's new Global Freedom and Prosperity Report.
The report lists Bangladesh as 'mostly poor' on the Prosperity Index and 'mostly subjugated' on the Freedom Index.
In this list made for 2023, Bangladesh ranks 99th among 164 countries in the prosperity index among South Asian countries. India ranks 146th and Pakistan ranks 150th in the list. But Bangladesh ranks 141st on the Freedom Index, while India ranks 104th and Pakistan ranks 113th.
Various factors such as GDP per capita including health, inequality, environmental conditions, minority rights and education are taken into account to list the prosperity index. On the other hand, political, economic and legal conditions are measured to list the freedom index.
Strengthening fundamental freedoms accelerates long-term economic prosperity, according to research by a US-based think tank.
According to the report, the January 7 parliamentary elections marked a strong shift towards an authoritarian party system. By boycotting the opposition party and using it as capital, Awami League has sustained its 15-year rule. Besides, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is going to be the longest serving woman head of government in the world. Although this indicates stability, authoritarian party systems often face various risks that can undermine good governance. To mitigate these risks, healthy competition in politics, governance and the economy must be ensured.
Speaking at the conference, US Ambassador Peter Haas said that among the 164 countries listed by the Atlantic Council (in the Freedom Index), countries listed as 'mostly subjugated' were not listed as 'prosperous' (in the Prosperity Index). This suggests that Bangladesh needs to take bold steps to increase the economic, political and legal freedom of its people in order to become prosperous.
He further said that every country is facing problems in securing economic and political rights besides corruption. Rather than avoiding problems, the real objective should be to accept problems and actively try to solve them.
Conference keynote speaker Joseph Lemoine, director of the Atlantic Council's Center for Freedom and Prosperity, outlined the key findings of the report. The report assesses a nation's economic standing using democracy and governance indicators based on the Freedom Index and the Prosperity Index.
According to Joseph Lemoine, the data shows that countries with more freedom enjoy higher prosperity and countries with less freedom enjoy lower prosperity. A country can be more welcoming to foreign investors by improving political and economic freedom and creating a strong legal environment.
He also said that more independent countries receive significantly more foreign direct investment than less independent countries. As the overall freedom index suggests, a strong commitment to freedom is key to attracting foreign investment.
Government representatives, representatives of civil society, businessmen, donors and people from various fields were present in the conference.