Speakers at an international conference have laid emphasis on ensuring political stability, good governance and corruption-free society for achieving the government's 'Vision 2041 Agenda'.
They observed that the rate of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) could be raised by around 2.0 per cent through curbing corruption as it remains a major impediment to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They made with the remarks at the inaugural session of a two-day conference styled 'Pathways to a Sustainable Economy: Vision 2041 Agenda for Bangladesh' at Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) auditorium in the city.
The conference aims to examine the 'Vision 2041' agenda against the backdrop of the achievements of 'Vision 2021', jointly organised by PKSF, Dhaka School of Economics, University of Dhaka, Jagannath University, Griffith University (GU) Australia, University of Bath (UB) UK and Bremen University, Germany.
Prof Abdul Mannan, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), inaugurated the conference as the chief guest on Tuesday, presided over by PKSF Chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad.
Abdul Karim, Managing Director of PKSF, gave the speech of welcome while Dr. Moazzem Hossain, Adjunct Associate Professor, International Business and Asian Studies, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, gave the keynote speech.
"If the corruption is curbed, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) rate can be raised by around 2.0 per cent," Prof Abdul Mannan told the conference, adding that sustainable economic development is a big challenge for the country as it graduated to a developing country from a least developed country.
Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad emphasised on the need for concerted efforts to eliminate the economic disparity from the country. It is very important to rid the economic disparity of the country for achieving the SDGs, he added.
Some renowned local and foreign experts are taking part in six sessions of the conference, excluding the inaugural and concluding programmes, and are expected to present 15 keynote papers.
The conference is highlighting some key issues like Industrialisation to 2041: Requirement and Challenges, Agriculture and Food Security Issues, Public Health and Nutrition Issues, Climate Change and Sustainability Issues and Economics, Business and Social Issues.
