Staff correspondent :

Prime Minister and Leader of Parliament Sheikh Hasina expressed hope in the Parliament that inflation will soon come down as a result of various measures taken by her government.
He said, “Government has been taking and implementing various initiatives based on priority on price inflation, commodity market, keeping import of imported goods uninterrupted, garment export, foreign exchange management, bank liquidity, prevention of money laundering, gas supply, increasing the value of US dollar against rupee. .”
Prime Minister and Parliament Leader Sheikh Hasina said this in a written reply to Jatiya Party’s Mujibul Haque Chunnu’s question during the question and answer session scheduled for her in Jatiya Sangsad today. The question and answer session is raised on the table. Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury was presiding over the session.
Pointing out that the government has continued all kinds of activities to keep the prices of consumer goods normal, the Prime Minister said, we hope that the price inflation will come under control soon due to the effect of government initiatives. Moreover, it is predicted that inflation will decrease significantly in 2024 in important economies including the United States and the European Union. Despite various challenges in macroeconomics, Bangladesh has been able to maintain its position as a fast growing economy in the Asia-Pacific region.
He said that due to the adverse impact on the global economy as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and war-based sanctions, various economic crises are being felt in Bangladesh. This has had a significant impact on inflation, subsidy expenditure, balance of trade, foreign exchange reserves and exchange rates.
In a written reply to the question of Muhammad Saiful Islam of Dhaka-19 Constituency, Sheikh Hasina said, due to the increase in the prices of some products in the world market such as fuel oil, edible oil, wheat, fertilizers and various food products, consumer goods and industrial raw materials, pressure is being felt on import inflation in our country. The government is currently continuing all kinds of activities to keep the prices of consumer goods normal. The effective impact of the initiatives is expected to be available within a short period of time.
He said that the efforts of the government to make the life of the people easier will continue in the future and as a result, the ongoing temporary crisis will end and peace will return to the people, inshallah.
In response to another question of Jatiya Party’s Mujibul Haque Chunnu, the parliament leader said that legal assistance agreements have been taken with 10 countries to collect necessary information, evidence and other necessary assistance in order to recover money smuggled out of the country.
He said that the ‘Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2012’ is currently in force in Bangladesh to prevent money laundering, which was last amended on November 26, 2015. According to the provisions of this Act money laundering is defined as money laundering offence. In the case of money laundering crime, there is a minimum imprisonment of 4 (four) years and a maximum of 12 years, and additional offenses include confiscation of the property in favor of the state and a fine equal to twice the value of the property or 10 lakh rupees (whichever is higher).
The Prime Minister said that the ‘Mutual Assistance Act, 2012’ in criminal matters has been enacted to ensure mutual legal cooperation with various countries to facilitate repatriation of money laundered abroad. The Ministry of Home Affairs is acting as the central authority for providing mutual assistance in criminal matters under this Act. Besides, the task force formed under the leadership of the Attorney General to bring back the money smuggled abroad to Bangladesh is working to recover the money.
In this regard, the parliament leader also said that necessary initiatives have been taken to sign mutual legal assistance agreements with 10 countries initially to receive necessary information, evidence and other necessary assistance for the purpose of recovering money smuggled from Bangladesh. A strategy paper on the recovery of laundered money has been formulated, which after approval by the National Coordinating Committee constituted to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing has been sent to all concerned ministries, departments and agencies to implement the recommendations of the strategy paper. A guideline has also been formulated by BFIU on recovery of laundered money, which has been approved by the National Coordination Committee.
In a written reply to the question of M Abdul Latif of Chittagong-11 Constituency, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that 35 lakh 8 thousand families have been made self-reliant in the last 15 years under the One House One Farm project. Since 1997, 42 lakh 38 thousand people of homeless families including 8 lakh 52 thousand landless and homeless families have been rehabilitated through the construction of houses. This humanitarian and people-friendly initiative will continue in the future.