Originally posted in The Financial Express on 19 September 2024
The Ministry of Finance has appointed Dr Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), as a director on the Bangladesh Bank Board.
An office order was issued on Thursday by Afsan Bilkis, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry, stating that Dr Khatun’s appointment will be effective for the next three years from the date of her joining the central bank’s board.
Khatun is also a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a prominent think tank based in the USA.
She completed her postdoctoral research at Columbia University, USA, and collaborated with Professor Jeffrey Sachs. Dr. Khatun holds a Master’s and PhD in Economics from University College London (UCL), University of London. She has also participated in the Leadership Decision-Making program at Harvard University, USA.
Khatun regularly participates in various policy-making and advisory bodies, both domestically and internationally. She is a member of the High-level Advisory Board on the Productive Capacities Index of UNCTAD and serves on the board of BRAC, the largest non-governmental organization in the world.
Additionally, Khatun is a member of the Task Force on Climate, Development, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an initiative led by Boston University, USA.
Earlier in her career, she served as a Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), an Environment Specialist at the UNDP, and an Economist for the USAID Mission in Bangladesh.
Dr. Khatun has taught economics at universities in Bangladesh and England and has been a Visiting Fellow at various international research organizations. In 2023, she co-chaired the T20 Task Force on “Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda” for the G20.