Remove red tape to woo NRBs in national uplift process
Saturday, 29 December 2007
The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) Friday expressed their firm commitment to contribute in the national economy by making the best use of their expertise and ideas as well as investment to carry forward the country's progress and prosperity further ahead, reports BSS.
Addressing a series of seminars on development issues on the second day of the first ever NRB conference being held in the city, they urged the government to safeguard their investment, make the Ministry of Overseas Employment and Expatriate Welfare more active and remove all complications to attract the NRBs towards contributing in the national development process.
The topics of these seminars included agro productivity, opportunity of bio-fuel, arsenic prevention, local government system, urban management, health care service, transformational leadership, e-governance, energy policies, trade relation, IT development, flood preparedness, micro insurance and remittance.
The three-day conference began Thursday is being organized by the Scholars Bangladesh aiming at creating a bridge between the scholars and investors living in the country and thousands of such individuals residing abroad.
Abed Chowdhury, senior principal scientist of the CSIRO in Australia, on agro productivity suggested the government to take up proactive steps for utilising the opportunities of hybrid crops to ensure food security in the country. "Bangladesh should also strongly emphasise on the development of rural people by providing them with best seeds and other agri inputs to have a lucrative agriculture", he said.
Ehsan Imdad, President of Bio Fuel Development Company in the United States, said Bangladesh must utilise the potentiality of environmentally safe non-edible bio-fuel as the demand for high crude oil in the country is expected to grow up to 3.7 to 5.0 million tonnes by 2009.
He also explained how Bangladesh could benefit by cultivating 'Jatropha', a central American plant, from which bio- fuel could be produced.
"If we initially target 2,50,000 hectors of land for cultivation of 'Jatropha in Bangladesh, in two years we could reduce the import of crude oil in a large volume which would save foreign currencies,' he said.
Agriculture Adviser CS Karim as the chief guest suggested cultivation of the plant in the country under a pilot programme. But, he added, it must be seen whether this plant would affect the ecosystem.
Karim also said that hybrid rice would be cultivated on 10 million hectares of lands during the next crop season to recover the losses caused by this year's floods and cyclone.
He urged the NRB experts to come forward with their expertise, innovative ideas and investment to help the country increase its agri production.
Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury urged the NBRs to make investment in the pharmaceutical sector to raise the country's economy from low-value to high-value level.
'Our children will greatly benefit from this transformation as their education and skill will meet the demand of growing pharmaceutical sectors', he said while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled 'How NRB Can Help Bangladeshi Children'.
He expressed the hope that NRBs will consider arranging programme to provide training to the country's instructors in English language and mathematics.
He also urged the NRBs to help the young Bangladeshis find suitable education opportunities in North America, Europe and Australia as many of NBRs are in the academia there.
"There should be forums or interactive web pages, where our young adult can receive good academic advice from their compatriots, teaching or studying in various foreign universities," the foreign adviser said.
Adviser for Health and Family Welfare ASM Matiur Rahman urged the expatriate physicians to contribute their expertise in the country's health sector through using the modern technology as well as IT supports.
"We hope that the Bangladeshi doctors working abroad will also come forward to help raise highly efficient nurses at home in the greater interest of the overall health sector," he said.
Addressing a series of seminars on development issues on the second day of the first ever NRB conference being held in the city, they urged the government to safeguard their investment, make the Ministry of Overseas Employment and Expatriate Welfare more active and remove all complications to attract the NRBs towards contributing in the national development process.
The topics of these seminars included agro productivity, opportunity of bio-fuel, arsenic prevention, local government system, urban management, health care service, transformational leadership, e-governance, energy policies, trade relation, IT development, flood preparedness, micro insurance and remittance.
The three-day conference began Thursday is being organized by the Scholars Bangladesh aiming at creating a bridge between the scholars and investors living in the country and thousands of such individuals residing abroad.
Abed Chowdhury, senior principal scientist of the CSIRO in Australia, on agro productivity suggested the government to take up proactive steps for utilising the opportunities of hybrid crops to ensure food security in the country. "Bangladesh should also strongly emphasise on the development of rural people by providing them with best seeds and other agri inputs to have a lucrative agriculture", he said.
Ehsan Imdad, President of Bio Fuel Development Company in the United States, said Bangladesh must utilise the potentiality of environmentally safe non-edible bio-fuel as the demand for high crude oil in the country is expected to grow up to 3.7 to 5.0 million tonnes by 2009.
He also explained how Bangladesh could benefit by cultivating 'Jatropha', a central American plant, from which bio- fuel could be produced.
"If we initially target 2,50,000 hectors of land for cultivation of 'Jatropha in Bangladesh, in two years we could reduce the import of crude oil in a large volume which would save foreign currencies,' he said.
Agriculture Adviser CS Karim as the chief guest suggested cultivation of the plant in the country under a pilot programme. But, he added, it must be seen whether this plant would affect the ecosystem.
Karim also said that hybrid rice would be cultivated on 10 million hectares of lands during the next crop season to recover the losses caused by this year's floods and cyclone.
He urged the NRB experts to come forward with their expertise, innovative ideas and investment to help the country increase its agri production.
Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury urged the NBRs to make investment in the pharmaceutical sector to raise the country's economy from low-value to high-value level.
'Our children will greatly benefit from this transformation as their education and skill will meet the demand of growing pharmaceutical sectors', he said while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar titled 'How NRB Can Help Bangladeshi Children'.
He expressed the hope that NRBs will consider arranging programme to provide training to the country's instructors in English language and mathematics.
He also urged the NRBs to help the young Bangladeshis find suitable education opportunities in North America, Europe and Australia as many of NBRs are in the academia there.
"There should be forums or interactive web pages, where our young adult can receive good academic advice from their compatriots, teaching or studying in various foreign universities," the foreign adviser said.
Adviser for Health and Family Welfare ASM Matiur Rahman urged the expatriate physicians to contribute their expertise in the country's health sector through using the modern technology as well as IT supports.
"We hope that the Bangladeshi doctors working abroad will also come forward to help raise highly efficient nurses at home in the greater interest of the overall health sector," he said.