Experts stress role of private sector in SDG implementation

Speakers at a roundtable meeting on Sunday stressed the need for close participation of the private sector in the process of the SDG implementation in Bangladesh.

Addressing the round table as chief guest, Juena Aziz, chief coordinator of the SDG affairs cell, said that the private sector can play a very important role in implementing the sustainable development goals.

She mentioned that the SDG goals have close similarities with the aspirations of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who gave priority to poverty alleviation in a sustainable manner.

She also said that the private sector is estimated to have a 42 per cent contribution to the SDG goals.

In his keynote paper, Monirul Islam said that key components of the SDGs are education, health, and agriculture, and in all these three sectors, the private sector is playing a vital role.

For example, he pointed out, in the agriculture sector, the private sector can help implement sustainable development goals by introducing diversified agricultural inputs that are more resilient.

They can produce seeds that are less harmful to the environment, he added.

He also mentioned that, according to a recent survey by an independent organisation, Bangladesh’s ranking in SDG implementation has improved.

In 2017, the country’s ranking was 120, but in 2022 it ranked 104th in the SDG implementation index.

Representatives from the United Nations development program, multinational companies, including Bashira Haroon of  Suhana and Anis Ahmed Foundation, Shamima Akter of Unilever Bangladesh, Sheikh Sabab Ahmed of the British American Tobacco, media professionals and development experts attended the roundtable moderated by Saidul Islam, special correspondent of the newspaper.