Bangladesh: The Journey of Indomitable Development report launched
Ansar Ahmed Ullah
Contributing Editor, Shottobani
London: A new report titled ‘Bangladesh: The Journey of Indomitable Development’ was launched on 22 February at the UK House of Lords by Study Circle, a London-based Bengali research organisation.
The launch was held in the Attlee and Reid Room and presided by its Chairperson, Syed Mozammel Ali. The chief guest at the event was Dr Gowher Rizvi, International Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Syed Mozzamel Ali, in his opening remarks, explained the objective of the report as while Bangladesh has many challenges, the present government is making progress in every sector of Bangladesh. However, the news of this development isn’t reaching beyond Bangladesh.
Chief Guest Gowher Rizvi said Bangladesh was doing exceptionally well in development, and the report summarises statistical information in most sectors of Bangladesh, covering education, transportation and communication, women empowerment, health, including tackling Covid-19, power generation, agriculture, housing, employment, commerce & Industry, EPZs and ten ongoing mega projects.
Others who spoke at the event in praise of Bangladesh were Lord Popat, Rushanara Ali MP, Baroness Uddin, and Bangladesh’s High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem. Also present were Mayors and a number of councillors.
The report follows from Digital Bangladesh to Smart Bangladesh. The report says Bangladesh is on track to graduate from Least Developed Countries (LDC) in 2026, to become a high-income country by 2041, with a per capita income of over US$12,500 and foreign trade of US$ 300 billion.
According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) of the UK, Bangladesh will graduate to the 24 largest economies by 2036 owing to its ability to attract large foreign investments, the rising RMG demand, and macroeconomic stability. In a word, the success of the current government in various sectors, including education, health, communication, transport, agriculture, industry, and trade, is outstanding. This progress of the government is taking Bangladesh towards a new future.
In her speech marking ‘Digital Bangladesh Day-2022’ on 12 December, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government is working to transform the country from Digital Bangladesh to Smart Bangladesh by 2041. Under her leadership, The Smart Bangladesh Task Force is working to build the four foundations of ‘Smart Bangladesh’.
In Smart Bangladesh, everything will rely on technology; citizens will be skilled in using technology and the entire economy will be managed by technology. Efforts have already been undertaken to make the government and society smart in this regard.
The ‘Study Circle’ formed in 2018 was set up to publicise sector-wise developments in the press and media. Their first report was launched in the House of Lords in December 2018, followed by the Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Parliament in Belfast.