DHAKA, Sept 19 – Bangladesh has been listed among 69 countries failing to meet minimum fiscal transparency requirements in 2025, according to the US Department of State’s Fiscal Transparency Report released on Thursday.
The report, which assessed 139 governments worldwide, found that Pakistan and the Maldives also fell short of the standards in South Asia, while 71 countries met the minimum criteria.
The US report noted that while Bangladesh’s executive budget proposal and enacted budget were made public, including online, the end-of-year report was not released within a reasonable time, and budget documents were not prepared following internationally accepted principles.
“Budget documents provided a reasonably complete picture of planned expenditures and revenues, including natural resource revenues. However, the budget failed to break down expenditures for executive offices and did not provide a substantially complete picture of revenues and expenditures,” the report said.
The report also flagged concerns over the independence of Bangladesh’s supreme audit institution, noting that although some findings were made public, they lacked adherence to international standards.
On natural resource contracts, the report acknowledged the interim government’s move to suspend all ongoing direct negotiations and make procurement for resource extraction fully open and transparent.
To improve fiscal transparency, the report recommended:
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Timely publication of end-of-year reports and audits
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A complete breakdown of government revenues and expenditures
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Ensuring the independence and resourcing of the supreme audit institution
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Public disclosure of natural resource extraction contracts