Leading economists expressed this view at the opening session of a two-day symposium in the capital yesterday.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Population Science department of Dhaka University jointly organised it.

Binayek Sen, senior research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said Bangladesh has made a silent stride from low to medium human development in the global ranking in the last one decade.

" Lowering of population growth rate would not be sustained if the extreme poor people were not brought under this process, " he said.

The economist noted that lowering of population growth rate contributes to improvement of the quality of child, which leads to poverty reduction in the long run.

Professor MM Akash of economics department at Dhaka University said there has been a marginal decrease in overall poverty in the last two decades.

"If we fail to improve education and health sectors we will not be able to sustain the achievement in lowering population growth," he said.

Akash said the average marriage age in Bangladesh has increased, contributing to lowering population growth and the increase of women workforce.

Hossain Zillur Rahman of Power and Participation Research Centre said increase of literacy rate and women workforce and lowering of fertility rate are some successes of Bangladesh.

"These achievements would be jeopardised if we fail to minimise the existing pervasive income gap between the rich and poor," he said. "Economic growth must be pro-poor."

"Bangladesh has come out of the vicious circle of famine as the farmers have doubled rice production over the last two decades," he mentioned.

Presiding over the session, Kholiquzzaman, chairman of Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad, said economic growth will be of little significance unless the income inequality is removed.

Vice-chancellor of Dhaka University SMA Faiz inaugurated the workshop. Country representative of the UNFPA Suneeta Mukherjee spoke as a special guest.