DHAKA, Jan 27, 2020 (BSS) – The Economic Relations Division (ERD) under the
Ministry of Finance will hold a two-day flagship event– ‘Bangladesh
Development Forum'(BDF)– on January 29-30 to highlight the formulation of
the ensuing eighth Five Year Plan and the ways forward of attaining the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) before the development partners.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the event as the chief guest
at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) of the capital while
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will chair its inaugural session.
“BDF 2020 has been dedicated to the Birth Centenary of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The slogan of the upcoming BDF is
“Effective Partnership for Sustainable Development”,” said ERD Secretary
Monowar Ahmed while addressing a pre-event press conference at the NEC-2 in
the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area today.
He said the BDF would be very important for the government and also for the
development partners as Bangladesh is now graduating from the LDC status and
it is expected to enter the higher middle income country status within the
next few years. The previous BDF events were held in 2010, 2015, and in 2018.
“This BDF will have a different character as Bangladesh is eying to frame
the next plan of the country (8th FYP) after coming out of the LDC status.
Besides, this BDF will have wider high-level participation from the
development partners as Vice Presidents from World Bank, ADB and JICA will
attend the meet,” he said.
“To properly monitor the implementation of the decisions of the BDF, the
government would frame a specific committee or task force which would monitor
the implementation of the BDF outcomes or decisions through time-bound action
plan,” Monowar said while answering to a question.
Replying to another question, he said the ongoing graduation period of
Bangladesh from the LDC status would not affect the country to such extent
for realizing official development assistance (ODA) since the government has
been able to successfully face the LDC graduation challenges.
“There might be some impact on the ODA due to LDC graduation, but we’re not
concerned at all as all of our development partners are now very much eager
to support us,” he added.
When asked whether the Rohingya issue would be highlighted or not in the
ensuing BDF event, the ERD Secretary said the Rohingya problem is not an
issue of discussion at the event adding, “It’s my firm belief that Myanmar
will take back their Rohingya nationals with full security and safety as the
international court has also given their verdict in this regard.”
Mentioning that the government wants to forge effective partnership with
the development partners from the perspective of ‘mutual responsibility’,
Monowar said the development partners spends around US$350 million to US$400
million every year in Bangladesh of their own through various NGOs without
properly informing the government, but only keeping it within the knowledge
of the NGO Affairs Bureau.
But, for the sake of ensuring transparency, he said the government would
try to bring the development partners under accountability in this regard.
The ERD Secretary told another questioner that the financial package of the
eighth Five Year Plan would be highlighted before the development partners in
this BDF, especially the involvement of the public and private sector.
He informed that Senior Vice President of JICA Junichi Yamada, Vice
President of World Bank for the South Asian region Hartwig Schafer, Vice
President of Asian Development Bank Shixin Chen and many other national and
international high-level delegates will attend the event.
The keynote session of the forum will be devoted to ‘Effective Partnership
for Implementing the eighth Five Year Plan Aiming towards Achieving SDGs’.
This will be followed by eight working sessions themed on: Private Sector
Engagement and Trade Facilitation, Partnership for Climate Change and its
Financing; Innovative Financing for a Self-reliant Bangladesh; Rural
Transformation: Creating Opportunities for All; Health Services: Inclusive
Delivery Options; Energy Security for Sustainable Growth; Sustainable Cities:
Services and Protection for the Vulnerable; Quality Education for All; and
Preparing for forth Industrial Revolution.
Monowar said the Forum will be held at an opportune time when Bangladesh is
experiencing exponential growth in all socio-economic parameters under the
leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said the country is at the final stage of implementing its seventh Five
Year Plan while it is also formulating the eighth Five Year Plan. The country
is also committed to implement the UN mandated SDGs. At the same time, the
government is working relentlessly to become a developed and prosperous
nation by 2041.
“In this context, the forum will provide an ideal platform for assessing
the progress made in implementing the seventh FYP. At the same time, it would
also provide an opportunity for a wide ranging consultation for formulating
the upcoming eighth Five Year Plan,” he noted.
The upcoming BDF 2020 would also provide a stage for evaluating the
country’s progress in implementing the SDGs. It would also provide a platform
for assessing the progress as well as the future development paths of the
country’s key priority areas.
Monowar said the BDF 2020 will come up with an outcome document spelling
out necessary joint steps in each of the thematic areas.