2-day Bangladesh Development Forum meet from tomorrow
UNB
The two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2015, a high level flagship event of the Government of Bangladesh, begins tomorrow after a five-year gap where the vision of the governments 7th Five-Year Plan would be placed before the development partners, reports UNB. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the meet at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital. She will also open a Development Fair there. Talking to the news agency, an official at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said during the meet, the government would share its national vision and strategies with the wider development community and consult esteemed development partners on key development priorities.
Bangladesh Development Forum will gather ministers, top government bureaucrats, political representatives of donor countries, senior development partner officials and civil society to ensure a strengthened partnership for the countrys development.
The official said as this Forum is taking place just after world leaders launched the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Forum will provide an exceptional opportunity to discuss how to take forward these globally agreed goals at the national level.
Representatives from all the development partner countries and organisations are expected to take part in the meet to be organised by ERD. Local Consultative Group (LCG) is coordinating the programme on behalf of the donors. On the other hand, the joining of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun is adding special significance to the BDF-2015. Jin Liqun, who would lead a five-member delegation, will address the inaugural session of the meet.
Vice- President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wencai Zhang would also speak in the opening session. According to the ERD officials, AIIB is developing a fund of $ 50,000 crore for its member countries, and how Bangladesh could avail of special benefit from the fund would be discussed in the meeting to be chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith. Officials said the Seventh Five-Year Plan (SFYP) would require a total of Tk 31.90 lakh crore for its implementation, in which the government will provide Tk 7.25 lakh crore from the national exchequer while Tk 24.65 lakh crore would come from the private sector. The big portion of the amount would come through Annual Development Programme (ADP). A significant number of development programmes would be funded by donors. The keynote session will be devoted to Macro-economic management: A journey from lower to higher middle income country through an inclusive growth strategy ensuring SDGs. This will be followed by six thematic working sessions centring on the 7th Five-Year Plan and SDG implementation. The themes of these working sessions will be: agriculture, food security and climate change; strengthening economic foundations: strategies for development of infrastructure; governance and development: strengthening partnership for effective development cooperation; health and quality education: offering a secure future for all; social protection: leaving no one behind; and mainstreaming gender in economic development. It will conclude with an outcome document spelling out necessary joint steps in each of these six thematic areas. Moreover, a development fair has also been organised on the BICC premise where government, non-government, business organisations and donors will take part at 41 stalls. Development activities of Bangladesh will be showcased before the guests at the stalls.
