The finance minister of Bangladesh, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, is about to head off to his home district for four days. It will be a chance to touch base with his constituents ahead of the country’s upcoming elections.
But for now, he reflects on the government’s objectives that were laid out after prime minister Sheikh Hasina was elected in December 2008. “This government came to power five years ago, which was a critical time for the world as well [as Bangladesh]... We had time to think in our election manifesto and this is what we more or less followed. The position we took was that we should give emphasis on domestic demand, agriculture and rural development. And the country was going through a serious power crisis, so that had to be given high priority,” says Mr Muhith.
