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A three-day international conference on financing for inclusive and sustainable development is going to start in Dhaka today (Tuesday).
The International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC,B) is organising the conference titled ‘Asia-Pacific Conference on Financing for Inclusive and Sustainable Development’ at Hotel Intercontinental, in partnership with the ESCAP, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Bangladesh.
The programme will focus on enhancing investment and international development cooperation for financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific region.
President Abdul Hamid will attend its inaugural session as the chief guest.
Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal, Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen, and Prime Minister’s (PM) Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman will also be present, among others.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and former secretary general Ban Ki Moon will join the inaugural session through video conferencing.
About 100 international dignitaries from 30 countries and 400 delegates from Bangladesh will attend the conference.
Among others, Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP Dr Armida Salsia Alisjahbana, Minister of Information and Communications Technology and Innovations of Sri Lanka Bandula Gunawardena, Senior Economic Advisor to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and former central bank governor Nivard Cabraal, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure of the Maldives Riyaz Mansoor, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission of Nepal Professor Dr Puspa Raj Kadel, Under Secretary of State (Vice Minister) of Ministry of Industry and Handicraft of Cambodia Laim Kimleng, and Vice Minister of Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia Bun Chanthy will also join the conference.
PM’s Principal Secretary Nojibur Rahman, Former Chief Coordinator for SDG Affairs of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Md Abul Kalam Azad, ERD Secretary Monowar Ahmed, Senior Secretary of Financial Institutions Division Md Ashadul Islam, Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir, ADB Country Director Manmohan Parkash, and former caretaker government adviser A B Mirza Azizul Islam, among others, will attend different sessions of the conference.
There will be 10 sessions in three days on different issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These are: ‘Inclusive Financing for SDGs in Asia-Pacific’, ‘ICC’s Role in Responding to Emerging Global Challenges for Sustainable Growth’, ‘Scaling up Climate Finance: The Urgencies to Increase Public and Private Sources for Climate-resilient Development’, ‘Inclusive and Sustainable Finance and the Risks and Opportunities for the Banking Sector’, ‘Innovative Finance to Achieve Inclusive and Sustainable Business and Investment; Capital Market Development, Blended Finance and FinTech’, ‘Leveraging Private Investment; Innovative Financing for Infrastructure Development through New PPP Modalities’, ‘Building Financial Inclusivity: MSMEs’ Access to Finance through Technology and Innovation’, and ‘Financial Implications for SDGs in the Context of LDCs’ Graduation’.
The ICC, founded in 1994, is having its centenary celebration this year. Meanwhile, the ICCB is also observing 25 years of its inception.
The ICCB, the local chapter of the world business organisation, comprises trade organisations, national and trans-national corporations, and banks and financial institutions that represent almost 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s economy.
The ICCB closely works for promotion of foreign trade and investment, trade policy review through business dialogues, seminars and workshops on related policy issues, harmonisation of trade law and rules, and legal reforms etc.
(FE)