The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The Chief Adviser, Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, yesterday said participatory development has no alternative to move Bangladesh forward.

Inaugurating the four-day 16th biennial conference of the Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) he said to achieve the national development objectives the educational institutions of the country should be transformed into 'centres of excellence' instead of 'centres of politics,' he added.

To step up national development efforts, he called for a three-point strategy with stress on increased investment in education and human resource development, infrastructure development, and transformation of finance, agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors.

Speaking at the inaugural session on 'Participatory development: external and internal challenges' he said to become a mid-income country in a decade, as many experts believe, the progress achieved by Bangladesh in various fields should to be carried forward further.

Dr Fakhruddin, himself an economist, said explaining his three-pronged strategy, investment in education and human resource development should be raised and the value chain should be pushed up for a sustainable export based growth pattern for the country.

He called for the development of infrastructure, including power generation and supply, urban communication system, ports and roads and highways, which would support internal economic activities as well as export growth.

Thirdly, he called for the transformation of the activities of public and private sectors in different fields including finance, agriculture, construction and production.

The efficiency of the public sector utility services, should be increased for improving the overall business environment, he said.

Held at the Bangladesh Institution of Engineers the BEA President Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad chaired the session conducted by General Secretary Dr. Abul Barkat while Prof. Dr. Ashrafuddin Chowdhury gave the welcome address.

The Chief Adviser gave away BEA Gold Medals-2007 to economists, scientists and an editor, recognised by the BEA for making contributions in their respective fields.

Recipients of the medals included, Prof. M Kaiser Husein, Prof. Dr. Abul Hussam, Dr. AKM Munir, Prof. Sanat Kumar Saha, Prof. M Sekander Khan, Prof. M Eunus (posthumously) and The Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam.