Summer Davos Brings Opportunities to Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been achieving tremendous economic growth in recent years, and is now qualified for graduating to the ranks of a middle-income country by 2021 and even dreams of becoming a developed country by 2041.

Though it has attained remarkable progress across different sectors, it still has a long way to go to make this dream come true. The country has to overcome many challenges along with the rest of the world in the globalization era.

For a start, Bangladesh needs to strengthen its level of global cooperation in various sectors and learn from the experiences of other countries in coping with common challenges.

The three-day World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions, better known as the Summer Davos Forum, now being held in the city of Dalian in China’s northeast Liaoning province, has emerged as an effective global platform allowing Bangladesh to share experiences and forge wide-ranging cooperation with the world.

Bangladesh people see this meeting as bringing great opportunities to their country, as some 1,900 politicians, business people, scholars and media representatives from over 100 countries are providing shared wisdom and solutions on globalization in the new era.

As the forum will be discussing many common global major challenges like unprecedented technological change, global warming, geopolitical uncertainties, and rising inequality, it provides Bangladesh with an opportunity to learn many things with accompanying benefits.

With this in mind, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is a keen participant, bringing with her a 100-member high-level delegation representing different concerned sectors. After attending the opening ceremony, Sheikh Hasina met the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab. She also joined a panel discussion on “Cooperation in the Pacific Rim”.

Bangladesh has accomplished enviable success in the field of digitization under the political slogan “Digital Bangladesh” adopted by the incumbent government. It has thus been a role model in the world. However, the innovation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and speedy developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution create new challenges.

Therefore, the Summer Davos is a boon for Bangladesh in this aspect as the forum is looking for solutions in regard to this very issue. This global platform has also turned into an effective tool for Bangladesh to strengthen its international cooperation in technological innovation and grasp new opportunities for a technological revolution to promote quality economic growth in the coming years.

Bangladeshis are optimistic about the outcomes of the forum with various sessions on 5G development, climate change, coping with the next financial crisis, how to tax global business, and accelerating the cleantech transitions to name a few.

These are all more or less relevant to Bangladesh and it expects to benefit greatly from any solutions produced. This forum has also offered an opportunity for Bangladesh to learn how to succeed in a new era of globalization through sharing and exchanging views with participants from diverse communities to help promote quality economic growth of the country.

Economists are of the view that the South Asian nation needs around $24 billion investment in its infrastructure sector every year to keep the economic wheels at full speed. That’s why the country needs more foreign investments and global cooperation.

The forum has come forward to help Bangladesh to find entrepreneurs, enterprises, and investors as its new global partners for its fastest growing economy. It has opened a platform for fostering strategic cooperation between the next generation of leaders and those from diverse regions, countries and industries across the world.

Besides, since the forum has gathered many leaders from the Belt and Road countries on a single stage, it offers a chance to discuss different aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The forum has facilitated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her delegation members to engage in fruitful discussions aimed at forging cooperation in various fields under the BRI.

Md Enamul Hassan is the diplomatic correspondent with the Daily Sun, Bangladesh. 

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China Focus