Govt to give transit facility, not corridor: Muhith
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Finance Minister AMA Muhith Tuesday said that the government was going to provide transit facility, not 'corridor' to any other country, reports UNB.
"On regional connectivity, ideas need to be clarified. Government is not going to give a corridor. It is a political idea, but transit is a different thing and different idea. On transit, goods come in and go out, nothing else," he said while addressing the plenary session of the day-long conference on 'Bangladesh 2030: Strategy for Growth' at a city hotel.
Organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB) president Mahbubur Rahman moderated the session.
Former caretaker government adviser Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman made the keynote presentation while Prof Dr. Gustav Papanek, president for the Boston Institute for Developing Economics (BIDE), USA addressed the occasion as special guest.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein were panel discussants.
On the strategy for employment creation in Bangladesh, the Finance Minister said that agriculture can move the industrial sector. "The engine of growth has to be wage employment," he added.
Mentioning that land is one of the scarce elements in Bangladesh, Muhith underscored the need for giving utmost importance to land use planning.
Admitting the importance of urban strategy, the finance minister said that if the government could not be devolved to the local level, it would be very difficult to tackle the push of people to the urban areas, as around 28 percent of the population now resides in urban areas.
"On regional connectivity, ideas need to be clarified. Government is not going to give a corridor. It is a political idea, but transit is a different thing and different idea. On transit, goods come in and go out, nothing else," he said while addressing the plenary session of the day-long conference on 'Bangladesh 2030: Strategy for Growth' at a city hotel.
Organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB) president Mahbubur Rahman moderated the session.
Former caretaker government adviser Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman made the keynote presentation while Prof Dr. Gustav Papanek, president for the Boston Institute for Developing Economics (BIDE), USA addressed the occasion as special guest.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Executive Director Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and World Bank Country Director Ellen Goldstein were panel discussants.
On the strategy for employment creation in Bangladesh, the Finance Minister said that agriculture can move the industrial sector. "The engine of growth has to be wage employment," he added.
Mentioning that land is one of the scarce elements in Bangladesh, Muhith underscored the need for giving utmost importance to land use planning.
Admitting the importance of urban strategy, the finance minister said that if the government could not be devolved to the local level, it would be very difficult to tackle the push of people to the urban areas, as around 28 percent of the population now resides in urban areas.