Asia-Pacific business forum on Feb 8-9
Government high-ups of Asia-Pacific countries, including Bangladesh, UN agencies, global private sector leaders and experts will gather here in Dhaka on February 8-9 to explore ways to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030.
They will be brainstorming at the 13th edition of the Asia-Pacific Business Forum or APBF, the flagship regional business event of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, at Sonargaon Hotel.
This is the first time Bangladesh is hosting the event, which will be jointly organised by the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh or ICCB and the ESCAP under the patronage of the commerce ministry.
The theme of this year's forum is 'regional integration to achieve sustainable development', as envisaged by the United Nation's sustainable development goals or SDGs, said ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman.
“Our mission is to provide the best platform for regional public-private dialogue on the role and needs of business in achieving inclusive, resilient and sustainable development,” Rahman said at a media briefing in Dhaka yesterday.
President Abdul Hamid will inaugurate the forum on February 8. On the next day, apart from a plenary session on 'strategy for regional integration and cooperation', four business sessions will be held on as many topics.
The ICCB president said the APBF was launched in 2004 at Shanghai, China and has so far attracted more than 3,000 participants from business, government, academia and civil society from across the region.
Over the course of the last decade, he said it has helped to form a Pan-Asian multi-stakeholder network and has been hosted in various locations such as Almaty, Bangkok, Colombo, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Kunming.
In response to a query, ICCB Secretary General Ataur Rahman said they are expecting some 125 foreign delegations from 15 countries this year.
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