International conference on development kicks off Wednesday in Dhaka

A three-day international conference on development is going to begin in the city on Wednesday to disseminate academic research on the country’s development scenario to the world.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) is going to organise the international conference titled ‘Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD),’ on December 1-3, at a city hotel in Dhaka.

The conference will act as a platform for disseminating national and international research on critical socio-economic issues and engaging the wider community to envisage the next phase of development for Bangladesh after 50 years of independence.

Planning Minister MA Mannan will be present as the chief guest in the inaugural session of the conference.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman will attend as special guests.

A total of 13 keynote speeches and 27 academic papers will be presented over ten sessions in three days.

The session themes will cover macroeconomic policy, Covid-19 and economic recovery, Covid-19 and firms, political economy of climate change adaptation, spatial dimensions of development, surviving and thriving of women through major shocks, human capital and public policy, nutrition and well-being, and income and employment diagnostics and drivers.

In addition, the keynote presentations will draw insights from prominent national and international scholars like Nurul Islam, Rehman Sobhan, Mohiuddin Alamgir, Wahiduddin Mahmud, SR Osmani, Naila Kabeer, Nazrul Islam, Sajeda Amin, Martin Ravallion, David Hulme, Geof Wood, Yasuyuki Sawada, and others on salient issues of contemporary development discourse.

The conference will draw to a close after a panel discussion titled ‘Contemporary Agrarian Transition’ along with a roundtable titled ‘Turning Points in 2020s: Analytical and Policy Challenges’, which will bring together prominent economists and academicians from other disciplines, sociologists, policymakers, and civil society members.

State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam will be the chief guest at the roundtable session.

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