Dr Fahmida Khatun has assumed the role of Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), effective 1 September 2026, after completing her nine-and-a-half-year tenure as Executive Director of the organisation.
Dr Khatun has been associated with CPD since 2003 and served as its Executive Director from February 2017 to August 2026. During her tenure, CPD significantly strengthened its research capacity while expanding the scope, diversity and quality of its research programmes and thematic areas of work. The organisation also broadened and deepened its partnerships with national and international institutions and development partners, enhancing its networks and collaborative engagement. At the same time, CPD strengthened its institutional and resource base, placing the organisation on a stronger footing for long-term sustainability. Under her leadership, CPD further strengthened its institutional capacity through staff development, improved research and publication quality, digitalisation, and the development of its physical and technological infrastructure.
Dr Khatun holds a PhD and a master’s degree in Economics from University College London (UCL), University of London. She also undertook postdoctoral research at Columbia University in the United States and worked with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned economist and prominent global voice on development issues. She is an alumna of the Leadership Decision-Making Programme at Harvard University, USA.
Prior to joining CPD, Dr Khatun served as a Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and held senior professional positions with UNDP and the USAID Missions. She has taught economics at universities in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom and has been associated with several internationally recognised research and policy institutions, including the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), India, and the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI), Norway.
She previously served as Co-Chair of the T20 India Task Force on Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda under the G20 process. She was also a member of the Advisory Team of Connect to Learn, a global education initiative of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York and served as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.
Her research includes macroeconomic policy, fiscal and monetary policy, governance in the banking and financial sectors, international trade, environment, climate change and energy, digital public infrastructure, and the economic transformation of least developed countries.
Globally, Dr Khatun has been actively engaged in global policy processes and development dialogue. She is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Independent Expert Advisory Panel on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) and the High-Level Advisory Board on the Productive Capacities Index of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She is also a member of Boston University’s international task force on climate, development and international financial architecture.
At the national level, Dr Khatun has made significant contributions to strengthening public institutions and economic governance in Bangladesh. She serves on the Board of Bangladesh Bank, the country’s central bank, and on the Board of BRAC, the world’s largest non-governmental development organisation. She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Government of Bangladesh’s Five-Year Strategic Framework (2026–2031), contributing to the country’s long-term development strategy. She was a member of the Government’s Task Force on Re-Strategising the Economy and Mobilising Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development and the Task Force to Strengthen the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), both formed by the Interim Government of Bangladesh during 2024–25. She also served on the Panel of Economists for Bangladesh’s Eighth Five-Year Plan, formed by the Ministry of Planning.
Dr Khatun is regularly invited to deliver lectures at selected top institutes and universities of Bangladesh. She is also invited to speak on the macroeconomic situation and budgetary issues before various standing committees of the national parliament of Bangladesh.
Dr Khatun has authored and co-authored numerous books, peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, policy reports, and research papers. Leading international publishers, including Cambridge University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, Springer, and Sage Publications, have published her work. She is a columnist for The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s leading English-language newspaper. She contributes to several national dailies and is an invited contributor to the East Asia Forum at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University.
Dr Khatun is a widely respected public commentator on economic and development issues. She regularly provides expert analysis and commentary in national and international media, including BBC World Service Television and Radio, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, and several leading broadcast and digital platforms. Earlier in her career, she regularly contributed to BBC Bangla at the BBC World Service in London. She has also hosted several popular television talk shows on Bangladesh’s leading national television channels, facilitating informed public dialogue on contemporary economic and public policy issues.
Beyond her distinguished career as an economist, Dr Fahmida Khatun is a passionate Rabindra Sangeet singer and has released a solo music album. In recognition of her contributions to economic research and public policy, Dr Khatun received the Anannya Shirsho Dosh (Top Ten Outstanding Women) Award in 2009 from Anannya, one of Bangladesh’s leading women’s magazines.
In her new role as Distinguished Fellow, Dr Khatun will continue to contribute to CPD’s research, policy analysis and public engagement. She will lead research teams and major research projects, provide intellectual and strategic guidance to research initiatives, and contribute to developing new areas of research and policy work. She will also remain actively engaged in mobilising resources and developing partnerships to support CPD’s research programmes and institutional priorities. In addition, Dr Khatun will continue to represent CPD in national and international policy dialogues, strengthen collaboration with research institutions and development partners, and contribute to mentoring and building the capacity of CPD’s researchers.
