Bangladesh blue economy push seen as key to 2034 $1 trillion target

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Bangladesh blue economy push

Highlights

State Minister Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki emphasizes marine resource management as vital for Bangladesh to reach its 2034 $1 trillion economic target.
Shipbuilding, port management, and port development are identified as priority blue economy sectors, with a dedicated Blue Economy Cell established for institutional coordination.
Operational inefficiencies cause Bangladesh's port unloading to take three to five days versus four to five hours in Singapore, with garment exports requiring 95 days to reach markets compared to 60 days in Vietnam and 32 in China.

Blue economy priorities and coordination

As reported by The Business Standard, State Minister for Planning Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki says Bangladesh must make marine resource management a significant contributor to gross domestic product to meet its 2034 economic target. Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka on emerging industries in the blue economy sector, he says the government is also giving equal importance to rail and inland waterways alongside road transport.

Saki says shipbuilding, port management and port development have been identified as priority blue economy sectors, together with improving connectivity between ports and industrial production centres. He says the Prime Minister's Office has set up a dedicated Blue Economy Cell to improve coordination among institutions working in the sector.

He also stresses the need for cooperation among the government, academia and the private sector to develop the blue economy and build a skilled workforce. Universities have a crucial role in developing the human resources needed to support that effort, he says, while thanking Independent University, Bangladesh and its Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies for highlighting the issues.

Trade competitiveness and logistics constraints

The seminar also highlights operational bottlenecks that are weighing on Bangladesh's trade competitiveness. Javed Hosein, a member of the IUB Board of Trustees, says inefficiencies in port operations and logistics are undermining the country's position in international trade.

He says unloading a 21,000-tonne fuel oil tanker takes three to five days in Bangladesh, compared with four to five hours in Singapore. Garment exports also take about 95 days to reach destination markets after fabric is produced, compared with 60 days in Vietnam and 32 days in China.

Hosein attributes the delays mainly to corruption. Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam, director of IUB's Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies, delivers the keynote presentation, while IUB Vice Chancellor Prof M Tamim gives the welcome address and Prof Bakhtiar Ahmed, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, gives the vote of thanks.

Bangladesh’s four-year skills programme for out-of-school adolescent girls and young women highlighted efforts to link vocational training with apprenticeships, job placement support, and entrepreneurship pathways. Our earlier article noted that beyond technical skills, the initiative emphasized communication abilities and aimed to reduce social barriers to women’s economic participation through community engagement, supporting longer-term inclusion in the workforce.

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