Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu yesterday said militancy must be prevented for the sake of sustainable development in the country. “A peaceful environment is needed for development,” he said speaking as chief guest at the inaugural function of the two-day Bangladesh Summit of ‘Global Citizen Forum on Sustainable
Development’ at Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) at Agargaon in the city.
Presided over by PKSF Chairman Dr. Quazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed, the inaugural function was also addressed by Health and Family Welfare Secretary Manzur Islam, former Bangladesh Permanent Representative to UN Dr. AK Abdul Momen and Global Citizen Forum on Sustainable Development Member Secretary M. Shamim Haider Talukder, among others.
The information minister said it is urgent to keep on the flourishing of cultural activities and democratic trend to check militancy. It is possible to face the wrong notion of militancy by enhancing cultural practices, he said and suggested taking initiatives with government patronage in this regard. Hasanul Huq Inu said the participation of the poor people and able women would have to be increased in development activities to ensure sustainable development.
“We are yet to integrate 35 percent able women with economic activities. Sustainable development could not be achieved keeping this huge population aside,” he added. The minister said attainment of sustainable development is not possible without changing the social structure. The poor people should be integrated with the course of development, he said, adding that the government is increasing social safety net and giving importance to the implementation of big projects to this end. The minister said information and communication technology (ICT) is the biggest weapon of development at the moment.
He suggested increasing the use of digital technology to attain environment friendly economic growth.
For this, the prices of internet services need to be reduced, he said. The minister favoured further strengthening of the local government system to make the ongoing development activities more participatory.
Dr. Quazi Khaliquzzaman said no development could be sustained, if pragmatic steps are not taken in view of the harmful impact of climate change. This conference is taking place in Bangladesh for the fourth time.
The conference has nine sessions, including seven technical sessions. Different important aspects of sustainable development goals will be highlighted in those sessions.
