The United States has recommended that Bangladesh make information on government procurement contracts publicly available as part of efforts to strengthen fiscal transparency and accountability.
Washington has also urged Bangladesh to prepare budget documents in line with internationally recognized standards and ensure greater independence for the country’s supreme audit institution.
The recommendations were made in the US Department of State’s recently released 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report: Bangladesh.
According to the report, Bangladesh’s interim government has made significant progress in fiscal transparency by publishing the year-end financial statements within a reasonable period. It has also begun several reforms aimed at improving fiscal transparency while continuing some of the budget preparation and implementation practices of the previous government.
The US State Department said the interim government had made its executive budget proposal and enacted budget available online. Although the documents did not fully comply with international standards, the budget information was generally reliable, the report said.
Information on debt obligations was also publicly accessible. The budget documents provided a reasonably comprehensive picture of planned government revenue and expenditure, including revenue from natural resources.
However, the report identified several shortcomings. It said the budget did not separately disclose operating costs of executive offices and did not provide a fully comprehensive picture of government revenue and expenditure.
The report also noted that Bangladesh’s supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence and was unable to fully review government accounts.
While the government has introduced an electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, the report said there was room to further improve public access to the system and procurement-related information.
The US State Department made several specific recommendations to improve fiscal transparency in Bangladesh.
These include publicly disclosing basic information on contracts related to the extraction of natural resources, ensuring that actual revenue and expenditure remain aligned with the approved budget, and providing the supreme audit institution with adequate funding and operational autonomy.
The United States also recommended ensuring that the supreme audit institution has the authority and capacity to conduct timely audits of the full-year budget directly.
The recommendations are aimed at improving transparency in public finances, strengthening oversight of government spending and enhancing public access to information on state procurement and resource-related contracts.
