Day: October 18, 2022

International Labour Organization (ILO) Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa has said Bangladesh needs skills development for its huge young workforce.

 

“This required a creative approach where the ILO could also help,” she said during a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF).

 

This was her first visit to Bangladesh in the capacity of the Regional Director, BEF said on Tuesday.

 

The Regional Director (RD) was accompanied by the ILO Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen and other senior officials from ILO Dhaka office.

 

BEF members, former Presidents, and other sectoral representatives were also present.

 

The RD identified inequality to be one of the biggest developmental challenges for Asia and the Pacific.

 

She believed the region needed to prioritize social protection, social dialogue, employment generation, decent work, and the basic protection of workers.

 

Led by BEF President Ardashir Kabir, the committee members received and welcomed the RD and her colleagues.

 

The BEF President highlighted how BEF and the ILO had been working together in Bangladesh on skills development, occupational safety and health, social dialogue, industrial relations, decent work, and other various areas.

 

He pointed out Bangladesh’s need to prepare its workforce for the disruptions arising out of the gradual embracing of 4IR.

 

The President hoped that the ILO would remain by Bangladesh’s side as the country pursued its goals while going through the different stages of development.

 

He believed the new RD’s guidance could take the region as well as Bangladesh’s partnership with the ILO to the next level.

 

The BEF Committee members presented a bouquet, crest, and gift to the RD.

 

The Bangladesh government has been actively pursuing workers’ safety, social protection, and decent work conditions during the last few decades.

 

The country has also updated its rules and laws to make those sustainable and practical.

 

The parties exchanged views on ILO’s support for Bangladesh’s development and the need for future cooperation under the changing global scenario.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s agriculture sector will need Tk 15,000 crore investment in next five years, said Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Tuesday, urging the developed countries, international donor agencies and private entrepreneurs to invest in this sector.

 

Bangladesh has achieved unprecedented success in agricultural production under the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the minister at the opening ceremony of the ‘Investment Conference’ of the World Food Forum of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Italy.

 

But the agriculture sector is lagging behind in processing and exporting agricultural products where there are huge potentials, he added.

 

Prioritizing four sectors– the cold storage and post-harvest management, agricultural products processing and marketing, climate smart agriculture and irrigation and water management, the minister said , “The investment of Tk 15,000 crore is required in these sectors in the next five years. These sectors are very promising and profitable for investment in Bangladesh.”

 

‘Bangladesh’s agriculture sector needs Tk 15,000cr investment in next 5 yrs’

 

The minister sought immediate investment in setting up of cold storages, post-harvest management, processing and marketing for these of potatoes, onions, mangoes and tomatoes.

 

Bangladesh doesn’t have sufficient technology and cold storages to store vegetables including onions, mangoes and tomatoes, he said adding 25-40% of these products are wasted at the post-harvest stage.

 

Highlighting the details of investment infrastructures and government facilities in Bangladesh, the minister said the country has a conducive investment environment. “So, come forward to invest.”

 

Working to increase investment in agricultural sector transformation, FAO organised the two-day ‘Investment Conference’ from October 18-19. Twenty countries from different parts of the world are participating in this conference, which need more foreign investment in the agricultural sector.

 

Besides, representatives of various international donor organisations, banks and private entrepreneurs including the World Bank, Arab Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Latin American Development Bank are participating.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Tuesday directed telecom operator Grameenphone to ensure quality mobile service in order to reduce customer suffering.

 

“As the quality of service increases, the call drop subsidy will decrease,” he said in a meeting with the Grameenphone delegation led by Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Asia Jorgen C Arentz Rostrup at the secretariat.

 

It will not be easy to survive the competition in the digital age without innovation and technology development, said Jabbar.

 

The government is determined to do everything possible to improve the infrastructure to ensure the quality of mobile services, he said. “We have already allocated spectrum as per the demand.”

 

He hoped that the mobile operators will be able to provide the desired mobile services to the customers by utilising this opportunity.

 

Jabbar also urged Grameenphone to take a role in increasing the rate of smartphone usage to 100% to meet the challenges of the digital age, saying that it would be highly appreciated if Grameenphone took such an initiative so that ordinary customers can buy smartphones in installments.

 

Regarding internet usage, the minister said the bandwidth used in the country was 1000 Gbps before Covid pandemic, but it has increased to 3840 Gbps during pandemic.

 

He appreciated Grameenphone’s role in speedily implementing his directive to provide 4G network to the remotest communities of the country during Covid pandemic.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market (BICM) has reduced tuition fees 50 percent for master’s programs to encourage financial literacy in youths for sustainable stock market growth in the country.

 

The country’s first and only post-graduate program on Masters of Applied Finance and Capital Markets (MAFCM), conducted by BICM announced this in a press conference, held at its office on Topkhana Road in the capital on Tuesday.

 

BICM is a state-funded institution affiliated with Dhaka University.

 

Responding to a query, executive president of BICM Professor Dr Mahmuda Akter said that this initiative has been taken considering the present economic situation and encouraging financial literacy.

 

“BICM hopes to increase the attention among applicants for this program with a fee waiver. They also hope the youth will be interested in building a career in capital market-related institutions,” she said.

 

Mahmuda said, “In order to make Bangladesh a developed country, rapid industrialization and large-scale sustainable infrastructure development are needed.”

 

There is no easier way to provide this financing than a dynamic and expanding capital market, this course will help to increase financial literacy, she believes.

 

The fee per credit of this 51-credit Master’s program is Tk4000, on which the 50 percent discount now reduces it to Tk2000. The total program fee is reduced to Tk1.40 lakh from Tk2.5 lakh.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Bangladesh on October 26 to discuss the terms of a $4.5 billion loan to Bangladesh.

 

The IMF team will stay in Dhaka for 10 days and will hold meetings with government officials of different offices, including Bangladesh Bank, and the Ministry of Finance.

 

Meanwhile, the central bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said that he had received verbal assurance of getting the loan from the IMF during his recent Washington visit.

 

Besides, the World Bank will provide another $1.0 billion separately as budgetary support for Bangladesh.

 

However, the IMF is also expected to attach various conditions to the disbursement of the loans.

 

Highlighting the overall situation of the economy, last July, Bangladesh wrote a letter to the IMF asking for a loan to maintain the balance of transactions and as budget support.

 

Although the loan amount was not mentioned in the letter, sources said then that Bangladesh wanted a $4.5 billion loan as budget support.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has said it encourages talented students to come up with enthusiasm and innovative minds to lead the RMG industry to a new high.

 

As part of it, BGMEA has launched the Sustainable Design and Innovation Award for students and industry professionals to recognize their talent and inspire them to develop sustainable design and innovation in the country’s RMG industry.

 

Fresh graduates from fashion design institutes of major public and private universities along with industry professionals submitted applications to take part in the competition.

 

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan handed over financial aid of Tk. 10,000 to each of 50 students who have been shortlisted to contest the Sustainable Design and Innovation Award so that they can develop their innovative samples for the competition.

 

Sustainability, innovation top priorities: BGMEA chief

 

The founder and CEO of the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Managing Director of Denim Expert Mostafiz Uddin was also present at the programme held at BGMEA Complex on Tuesday.

 

“The RMG industry of Bangladesh aims to move up the value chain where sustainability and innovation are top priorities,” Faruque Hassan said, adding that the Sustainable Design and Innovation Award is such an effort to empower and reward young and talented people who will play an active role in building a more sustainable future for the RMG industry.

 

A jury board comprising national and international experts will find the best sustainable and innovative submissions by evaluating the submissions based on innovative aspects of the design, functionality, aesthetics, consideration of environmental standards and social footprint of the product, and process innovation, BGMEA said on Tuesday.

 

This competition aims to help to establish new relationships within the design profession, encourage multi-disciplinary approaches to design, advance diversity, or encourage more environmentally and socially sustainable solutions.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh