Renowned economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed has said that social values have eroded severely at the individual level as competition for wealth has risen in the country.

He said this at a discussion meeting titled 'Inclusive Development in Bangladesh Challenge and Opportunity' organized by The Business Eye, at the National Press Club on Saturday.

Kholiquzzaman said Bangabandhu took all the measures for the development of the people, he focused on people-centered agriculture, and he focused on everything from education. But after Bangabandhu, it did not exist anymore.

“We have moved out of human centricity and towards capital centricity. Till 2009 we were mired in poverty. Then in 2015, we became a middle-income country. Since then, there has been a lot of development in the country,” he pointed out.

Former state minister Dr. Shamsul Alam said that the country's remittances have increased and Bangladesh has become a country with a $465 billion economy, from $72 billion, reports UNB.

“Poverty decreased; education rate increased. Inequality has increased somewhat due to the rapid growth of the country. The government has given importance to social security to reduce inequality,” he said.

Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Dr. Atiur Rahman said that most of the development over 50 years has taken place in the last 15 years.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said that inclusive development took place in Bangladesh.

A large portion of the population directly and indirectly are engaged with garment industries in the country, that is an example of inclusive growth, the BGMEA president said.

President of Jatiya Press Club and Editor of Business Eye Farida Yasmin presided over the programme while senior journalist Syed Ishtiaque Reza moderated the function.

Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul