Poverty reduction the key challenge
Planning Minister MA Mannan yesterday said poverty reduction is the main challenge ahead of the government as the rate is still high, although the country has made significant economic progress in recent years.
“At present, one out of five persons [in the country] live below the poverty line. We are trying to bring it down to one out of 10 within the next five to seven years,” the minister said while speaking as chief guest at a seminar organised by civic platform “Bangladesh-China Silk Road Forum” at a Dhaka hotel.
“We are trying our best to reduce poverty,” he added. The minister said the government has undertaken various rural development plans in this regard.
About what Bangladesh can learn from the development in China, Mannan said the base of Chinese economy has been established through its infrastructural development.
“We, perhaps, are moving towards that type of economy, which has already started to reap us benefits,” the minister said, adding that Bangladesh has a lot to learn from China.
Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Li Jiming said China has been working for Bangladesh’s development for a long time. This partnership will continue in the future as China believes in cooperation, he added.
Noted columnist and writer Syed Abul Maksud, the forum’s Chairman Dilip Barua, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Huq Inu, BNP central leader Abdul Moyeen Khan and former ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmed spoke at the programme, among others.
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