United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister’s Adviser and his office spokesperson Mahdi Amin on Monday said political, geopolitical and economic uncertainties can be addressed through proper policies, planning and preparedness. “Uncertainty is inevitable. But with the right values, policies, plans and programmes, it is possible to face any challenge,” he said while addressing a discussion titled “The Inner Forum: Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty” at the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 at a city hotel in the morning. Mahdi Amin said Bangladesh and other countries in the region could collectively face challenges and move forward on the path of development by building relations based on regional cooperation and mutual benefits. Speaking about the Rohingya crisis, he said international funding for the Rohingyas should continue while Bangladesh needs to work with global and regional stakeholders to ensure their safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation. “We can build bilateral and multilateral relations with every country on the basis of equality, fairness and justice,” he said. He also stressed the need to increase mutual cooperation in education, healthcare, communications, connectivity, technology and maritime security. On technological changes, Mahdi Amin said some jobs might disappear due to artificial intelligence, robotics and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “However, new employment opportunities can be created through training, skills development and modernising curricula,” he said. Highlighting various government plans to address climate and environmental risks, he said the government plans to plant 25 Crore trees over the next five years, excavate 20,000 canals and rivers, construct the Padma Barrage for water conservation and undertake the Teesta Barrage Master Plan. He said people’s living standards could be improved through proper policies even amid fears of an economic crisis. To this end, he also mentioned plans to introduce Family Cards, Farmers Cards and Health Cards. Other speakers at the discussion included Aamna Khan, Non-Resident Fellow at the London Dialogue, Qatar; Constantino Xavier, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, India; Hadza Min Fadhli Robby, Director of the Institute for Global and Strategic Studies at the Islamic University of Indonesia; Julia Roknifard, Senior Lecturer at Taylor’s University, Malaysia; Krzysztof Marcin Zalewski, President of the Boym Institute, Poland; Hallelujah Lulie Wondimu, PhD Researcher at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Mehmet Ozkan, Professor of International Relations at the Turkish National Defence University, Turkey; and Petr Topyckanov, Associate Senior Researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia. Kamal Dev Bhattarai, Editor-in-Chief of The Annapurna Express, Nepal, moderated the discussion. The Bay of Bengal Conversation, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS), brought together around 200 speakers, 300 delegates and 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries. Former heads of state and government, ministers, diplomats, researchers, journalists, businesspeople, security experts, civil society representatives, innovators and young leaders took part in the three-day international conference, which concludes on Monday.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Information and Broadcasting Zahed Ur Rahman on Tuesday described National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam’s remarks over the bomb blast during the party’s rally in Savar as “political”. He made the remarks while responding to questions at a press briefing on the progress of various government activities at the Press Information Department (PID) conference room at Secretariat. When asked about Nahid Islam’s allegation that at the bomb attack on the NCP rally was carried out with the support of the administration, Zahed Ur Rahman said,Yesterday’s incident was very unfortunate. We condemn it. The government’s main responsibility is to investigate who were involved in the incident and bring them to justice.” Referring to Nahid’s statement, the adviser said, “There is a term called political statement and he has made such a statement. He has the right to say that.” However, he said, “We expect a more responsible statement from the head of a political party who played a very important role in our mass uprising.” Responding to a question on why no one has been arrested yet in connection with the incident, Zahed said the government is investigating the matter and efforts are underway to arrest those involved. “The incident has not even been 24 hours old. It is not always possible to complete such a process immediately. The government is making its best efforts to make arrests, and hopefully it will happen soon,” he said.  “The important issue is whether the government is taking the matter seriously and taking necessary measures. I can confirm that this government is doing so,” he said.