Govt believes in balanced, sustainable development: Arafat

The Awami League (AL) government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, believes in balanced and sustainable development, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat said today (24 May).

He was addressing the opening ceremony of the two-day international conference on leadership, technology and trends 'Infocom Dhaka 2024' at a hotel in Dhaka.

The conference was organised by ABP Group of India in association with SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Daily Star, ISACA Dhaka Chapter and JCI Bangladesh.

Speaking as the chief guest, Arafat said no development can be helpful for mankind if it is not sustainable.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government gave importance to sustainable development, he added.

"We don't merely believe in development but believe in balanced and sustainable development. To this end, Bangladesh has done better than many countries in most of the indicators in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals announced by United Nations," he said.

This proves how much importance the Sheikh Hasina's government gives to sustainable development, he said.

The state minister said technology is rapidly changeable but the thing is whether the changing technology is contributing to positive development in the society or not.

"This is considerable whether it improves the people's lifestyle or causes harm to them. We are now greatly dependent on technology. So the risks posed by technology have become an issue of really big concern for us," he said.

Even, Arafat said, these risks put the collective existence of human society at stake. "But we finally do believe that the positive aspects of technology will advance the human civilisation," he added.

The minister said the government is now thinking to make the changes sustainable which are happening through the development of technology.

If the outcome of changing something through technology is positive, it is very important to make it sustainable," he added.

He lauded the present government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for establishing Digital Bangladesh.

In the world of technology, Arafat said: "If we don't have adequate preparation in data protection, then we won't have sovereignty in this regard. Therefore, it is very urgent to rethink about the concerned issues including data management".

"That's why we have to think anew about the creation of a whole new world together keeping technology in mind. This should be at the centre of all decision-making processes," he said.

Noting that humanity, human rights and human welfare are the main issues in the world, he urged all especially who have a positive mindset to work together to build a better world for the future.

"The more we can move together with our knowledge and experience, the better the output will be and we will be able to create a better world. People of different countries will benefit through this," he added.

ABP Private Limited CEO Dhruba Mukherjee gave the welcome speech on the occasion.

Director of Systems Engineering, India and SAARC Palo Alto Networks Huzefa Motiwala, President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Md Jashim Uddin, Chairman of the Council for Communication and IT of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Shafquat Haider and National President of Junior Chamber International (JCI) Bangladesh Imran Kadir also spoke at the event, among others.