The young generation must be integrated into the formal economy, if the country wants to transform into a developed country by 2041, said LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam on Wednesday.
He also said that the young generation were the country's strength and also pivotal to building a better Bangladesh in future.
“Their participation will make it easier for the country to achieve certain goals. For this reason, I urge the private sector to come forward along with the government,” he added.
He made the remarks while speaking as chief guest in a dialogue titled “Addressing Vulnerability of Youth in Bangladesh: Policy and Resource Allocation”, organized jointly by the South AsianNetwork on Economic Modeling (Sanem) and ActionAid Bangladesh in the capital.
Regarding ongoing global economic crises, the LGRD minister said that the government was privy to the impacts, especially those caused by the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
He also said that almost all the countries are taking austerity measures now.
Not only Bangladesh, the world is facing an energy crisis, import and export imbalance, food price hike, and depreciation of several currencies, he further said.
But he hoped the country would overcome this situation very soon.
“Bangladesh had many crises once and we gradually improved. Change doesn't come overnight,” he added.
“The prime minister has prepared a roadmap to take Bangladesh to great heights after coming to power and is working accordingly,” the minister remarked, adding that there have been many developments in the country and these success stories cannot be denied.
He also said that the governments of any country are not above criticism but it is not true that the government has no success.
Sakil Ahmmed, lecturer of the Department of Economics at University of Dhaka, presented the keynote paper in the dialogue, where he pointed out that Bangladesh was currently passing through the phase of a demographic dividend as one-third of the country’s population were aged between the ages of 15 and 35.
The young in Bangladesh are facing vulnerability associated with poverty, inequality, social exclusion, unemployment, physical and mental disabilities, along with a lack of social support and education which may have long-term socio-economic consequences, the keynote paper read.
It is imperative for Bangladesh to address these vulnerabilities of its young population by providing them with the physical and intellectual skills so that they can perform to their full capacity and drive the growth and prosperity of the nation, Ahmmed also said.
To address the young generation’s vulnerability and make the best use of the demographic dividend, the government might have to play a significant role in terms of policies and necessary resource allocation, he added.
Speakers from various platforms of the society also participated in the roundtable and expressed the states and needs of their respective communities and the issues regarding young entrepreneurs, ease of doing business and many more.
Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, chaired the dialogue while Dr Selim Raihan, executive director, Sanem, moderated the dialogue.