Planning Minister MA Mannan speaks at the inaugural session of an international conference titled ‘Sustainable Blue Economy for the development of Bangladesh’ at the Senate Bhaban on the Dhaka University campus in the capital on Wednesday.Planning Minister MA Mannan on Wednesday underscored the need for tapping the huge potentials of the country’s ‘blue economy’ in a judicious way to contribute to the national economy.“We have huge potentials in blue economy and we hope to explore newer potentials in this sector,” he said, addressing the inaugural session of a Programme titled “Sustainable Blue Economy for the development of Bangladesh” as the chief guest at the Senate Bhaban on the Dhaka University campus, reports BSS.Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman chaired the function while Professor of Department of Oceanography of Dhaka University Dr Md Kawser Ahmed made the key-note presentation.Chairman of the Oceanography Department Jobaer Alam delivered the address of welcome and Executive Director and CEO of GreenTech Foundation, Bangladesh Lutfor Rahman gave the vote of thanks.The planning minister said after winning the vast marine areas in the Bay of Bengal through the maritime boundary verdicts against India and Myanmar, the knowledge on Oceanography and blue economy among the scholars and concerned stakeholders is increasing day by day.He urged the students of the Department of Oceanography to explore newer potentials in this sector and thus help build a science-based country suitable for the 21st century.“We’ll have to remain cautious about the maximum utilization of the blue economy for our own interest because our economy is growing and expanding,” he added.The planning minister also suggested the Oceanography Department teachers to come up with rational proposals on how to further strengthen this department.Mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always advocates for necessary allocation for conducting time-befitting researches and studies, Mannan suggested the department high-ups to give attention to necessary researches as well as coming up with practical project proposals to well-equip this department considering the untapped blue economy of the country.Listing the various development activities of the Awami League government over the last 10 years in the land, the water and the space, Mannan said a plan is also there to unleash massive development works in the coming years, including constructing another tunnel beneath the river Jamuna and a feasibility study is being carried out in this regard.Referring to the recent terror attacks in New Zealand and Sri Lanka leaving scores of innocent people dead, he made an ardent appeal to the young generation not to follow the wrong path.“It’s not at all acceptable to kill innocent people, damage property and thus bring disgrace to the nation,” he added.The minister also said, “Our only agenda is – we want to do hard work, hard work and hard work. We have no time for global tension and global conflicts. We don’t want conflicts and tension, rather we want to contribute towards building a peaceful world”.Later, the planning minister and other guests unveiled the cover of a book titled ‘Blue Economy: Prospects and Challenges of Marine Renewable Energy of Bangladesh”.
