Global demographic trends today confirm increasing longevity of populations which is accompanied by a reduction in fertility rates.

Despite diverging economic and political trajectories, South Asian countries share commonalities in terms of emerging development challenges in the wake of the new world and regional dynamics.

Bangladesh has a fairly young population with 34 percent aged 15 and younger and just five percent aged 65 and older. At present, more than 65 percent of our population is of working age, between 15 and 64.

Development is a buzzword in Bangladesh. Everyone talks about development but what do we really mean by development? There seems to be an obsession everywhere regarding the term without critically challenging the version of development that we have adopted.

Graduation from a low-income to a middle-income country has long been coming for Bangladesh as it has been performing extremely well among developing countries over the last few years.

The signing of a Mem-orandum of Understanding (MOU) early last year between the BGMEA and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) was, quite rightly, much applauded by the national press.

Today, there are six major macroeconomic challenges for Bangladesh's economy. First, accelerating economic growth and maintaining high economic growth over the coming years will remain a big challenge.

In a recently published report by the Washington-based research institute Global Financial Integrity (GFI), Bangladesh has been ranked second in South Asia in terms of illicit outflows of money.

In 1995, during the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the UNDP Human Development report stated that women's unaccounted work would amount to USD 3 trillion annually if monetised.

Education and skills are important prerequisites for faster economic and social development of a country. A skilled workforce is an asset and helps in ensuring enhanced productivity, adoption of new technology, global competitiveness, increased income and reduction of poverty. The East Asian countries achieved a higher growth path with adequate investment in skills development.

The curtains are falling on the year 2018 and for our economy it was yet again a roller coaster ride of achievements and disappointments. Challenges remain but if our economy's long history of unfaltering resilience is any guide, sooner or later we are going to overcome them.

About one year ago, I had the privilege of meeting one of the top corporate executives in Bangladesh. Well-known as a corporate kingpin heading one of the top multinational companies (MNCs) in our country, he was happy to chat when we were introduced at a family event.

In 2007, a legendary Indian civil servant, BN Yugandhar, then a member of the Indian Planning Commission, asked me to explain how Bangladesh was developing so remarkably.

In 1971, when Bangladesh emerged from the War of Liberation, many doubted that the country could survive as an independent state but today, 47 years later, those doubts have been put to rest.

Global climate change has become one of the dominant discourses in the scientific and public policy arena.

Unlike in many other countries, the private sector in Bangladesh was a crucial player in helping the country move up the development trajectory.

This year marks a decade since the global financial crisis erupted. For the United States, 2018 is very different from 2008.

The long-term trend of GDP growth rate of Bangladesh shows that the country has continued to improve its rate of growth steadily over the past 46 years after independence in 1971.

In material development terms Bangladesh has changed a lot, and has made much progress since I first arrived just over 44 years ago.

The quote "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate", from John F Kennedy is a mantra that should be adopted by all of us working in the readymade garment (RMG) sector of Bangladesh when entering into price discussions with our trading partners.