Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (March 06, 2023) sought five key support from development partners to ensure a smart, innovative and knowledge-based society that will help to promote peace and inclusivity.
The prime minister made the call at a side event, titled “Investment in Research and Development in LDCs for Smart and Innovative Societies”, at the 5th UN LDC Conference held at Qatar National Convention Center.
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The key supports are:
1. Provide appropriate incentives to the international private sector for impactful technology transfer to LDCs, including for climate action.
2. Invest in digital infrastructures to reduce broadband divide and tech discrimination in LDCs.
3. Foster collaboration among research professionals and institutes to address issues and challenges facing LDCs.
4. Continuation of LDC waivers under TRIPS Agreement, also beyond graduation, especially for pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals.
5. Support in developing an intellectual property regime conducive to both innovation and development in LDCs.
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She also apprised the participants of her goal to go much further, to the next vision — ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041.
“It will be based on four core elements: Smart Citizen, Smart Government, Smart Society and Smart Economy,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that in 2009, when her government made a pledge to the people to build a ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021, at the time, it sounded like a tall order.
“But, the Covid-19 pandemic proved that we could fulfill that pledge.”
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She said that the pandemic reminded all that LDCs cannot wait to invest in scientific research and technological innovation.
“Such investments are a must for advancing their economies through productive capacity building,” she said.
She mentioned that LDCs average GDP expenditure for research and development still remains below 0.6 percent. Only a handful of them feature in the Global Innovation Index.
“But, LDCs cannot afford to lag behind with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Our young people should be made part of the future of work. We need meaningful global partnership for that,” she said.
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Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh qualified for LDC graduation in 2021 under all three criteria.
“We are now preparing for graduation in 2026. During this transition, investment in science, technology and innovation is a priority for our government. We are working with the UN Technology Bank for LDCs on a national needs assessment,” she said.
She said that the government attaches importance to promoting a scientific mindset in the education system.
“We have established a host of science and technology universities and specialized institutes around the country,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said that the government has introduced the Bangabandhu Science and Technology Fellowship and National Science and Technology Fellowship.
The PM said that the new focus on blended education is aimed at developing IT skills for all.
In this regard, she said that Sheikh Russel Digital Labs and Schools of Future are being set up across educational institutions. Bangladesh now has the world’s second largest community of registered IT freelancers. A new Institute of Frontier Technology is in the making for supporting high-end research and development.
She mentioned that following the launch of Bangabandhu-I communication satellite, the government is now planning for an earth observation satellite.
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“Bangladesh had to invest in improving early warning and weather forecast systems to drastically reduce natural disaster risks,” she added.
Sheikh Hasina said that the government has worked on home-grown climate adaptation measures, including through technological applications.
“We also need access to mitigation technologies to further curb greenhouse gas emissions. Our government is building two nuclear power plants as part of a clean energy transition. We aim to increase our share of renewable energy, preferably with floating solar panels, offshore wind turbines and green hydrogen.”
She said that the government has given emphasis on supporting agricultural research which made it possible for Bangladesh to combat hunger and become largely food secure.
“We are investing further in making our agriculture and livestock environment-friendly. We stand ready to share our good practices with other LDCs through various means, including contract farming.”
Talking about the government's present focus on enhancing scope for medical research, she said, climate change’s impacts on public health are being manifested through new disease burdens.
“We must have international collaboration for research in neglected tropical diseases. We urgently need investments in developing new treatments for antimicrobial resistance,” the PM said.