importance of good governance for the country's development and expressed their resolve not to give political shelter to terrorist godfathers. They also called upon all political parties not to accommodate in their respective parties terrorists who were expelled by other parties. "Terrorists are liabilities for political parties, not assets", they noted.
Special Guest of the concluding session Mr Jalil said that lack of mutual respect among leaders of different political parties is taking its toll on the peace and development of the country.

Supporting him, Mr Mannan Bhuyian said "Politics means criticism and tolerance, and political leaders must respect their critiques." Talking on the significance of the National Policy Review Forum 2003, both the party leaders said that time has come to revisit the development priorities and reform programmes. In this context, they underscored the importance of giving due attention to the suggestions and recommendations of national experts, rather than those of the external donors.

Chaired by Professor Rehman Sobhan, the session was also addressed by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Mr Mahfuz Anam and Mr Matiur Rahman.

The 2003-04 budget, with its investment portfolio and fiscal measures, sought to take the economy from a "low-level equilibrium" to a "high-level equilibrium"; however, the measures proposed in the Budget did not match this ambition. This view was expressed by the Executive Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya at the dialogue on State of Bangladesh Economy and Budget Responses 2003 which was held at the CIRDAP Auditorium on June 19, 2003. He criticised the proposed budget for not having a clear direction as regards the implementation of the ever-large ADP.

In his presentation, Dr Bhattacharya underscored four factors crucial for the success of the Tk. 51,980 crore budget. These were: (i) successful implementation of the ADP; (ii) resurgence of exports and gradual diversification of commodity; (iii) higher inflow of private investment in manufacturing activities; and (iv) maintaining stability of exchange rate and price index as well as reducing the cost of capital.

CPD Executive Director noted that despite a robust increase in the inflow of remittances, national savings and investment have been facing a stagnant situation in the recent years. The issue of negative growth in the import of capital machinery was also pointed out.

The issue of coherence of the Budget with the objective of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP) also came up for discussion at the dialogue. Dr Bhattacharya noted "Though the budget follows the IPRSP's mid-term framework, sectoral linkages and output indications are not elaborated in allocation decisions for poverty reduction." Dr Binayek Sen, Senior Research Fellow of BIDS, however, differed with Dr Bhattacharya's observations on 'missing projects' of the ADP and mid-term planning. Addressing the budget as "a broad public expenditure umbrella", he noted that the budget was not supposed to address all the projections in the IPRSP. A number of participants at

Sitting at the Budget Dialogue from left to right: Former Deputy Speaker Professor Md Ali Ashraf, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Prof. Rehman Sobhan, Eminent Economist Professor Nurul Islam, Privatisation Commission Chairman Mr Enam Ahmed Chowdhury and Jatiya Party Lawmaker Mr GM Quader, MP.

the dialogue urged that given its importance the government should put the IPRSP before the Parliament for discussion. Presided over by Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman of the CPD, speakers at the dialogue expressed concerns over the prevalent law and order situation and lack of good governance which were crucial elements for the successful implementation of the ADP projects. "Without significant alleviation of the micro-level impediments to investment, emerging from low efficiency of public institutions and financial system to lack of security for life and properties, dysfunctional judicial process and pervasive corruption, the anticipated supply side responses will hardly be forthcoming," Dr Bhattacharya observed.

Former Finance Minister Mr M A Muhith, former Deputy Speaker Md Ali Ashraf, DCCI President Mr Matiur Rahman, Jatiyo Party Lawmaker G M Quader, First Secretary (Economics) of DFID Ms Joanne McGowan, Vice President of ICC-Bangladesh Mr A S M Quasem, Professor Nurul Islam, Dr Md Masum of Jahangirnagar University, President of Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal Mr Hasanul Haq Inu, Senior Development Advisor to CIDA Dr Omar Faruque Khan, CEO of IDCOL Dr M Fouzul Kabir Khan, and DG (MEA & TIB) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Saiful Amin Khan were among the participants.