Three day long First Non-Resident Bangladeshi Conference 2007 has concluded on Saturday (December 26) in Dhaka. The Chief adviser of caretaker government of Bangladesh Fakhruddin Ahmed was the chief guest of the closing ceremony. Over 1,000 non-resident Bangladeshis from 40 countries attended the conference.
During three days the NRB Conference 2007 featured 20 seminars on 33 national and international issues including economics, development, information technology, agriculture, human resources and overseas employment, disaster management, medical science, environment, energy, security, textile and garments industry.
The conference also incorporated Exhibition of Photography and Paintings of NRB. Publication Ceremony of the NRB authors will also be held at the conference. There was some exciting cultural program everyday.
In closing ceremony chief adviser has urged the non-resident Bangladeshis to pay heed to the motherland’s call for help in materializing the nation’s cherished development goals through concerted effort.
‘We can achieve this objective with the support and cooperation of all our citizens living at home and abroad,’ he told his audience, striking a note of optimism about the nation’s uplift potential.
‘I know fully the efforts that the NRBs make to keep connected and get involved with affairs of Bangladesh. I encourage NRBs to continue and expand these endeavors to ensure that the skills developed abroad by our citizens can be used to the fullest advantage by our nation,’ the chief adviser said.
On behalf of the army chief, the Quarter Master General of the Bangladesh Army, Lt Gen M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, director BRAC, UK, Sandra Kabir, Michigan State Senator Hansen Hashim Clarke and chief executive officer of Scholars Bangladesh Dilara Afroz Khan also spoke at the closing ceremony. The foreign adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, chaired the function while Dr Kamal Hossain gave the vote of thanks.
After the chief adviser’s speech, the floor was open for the expatriates and it turned out to be a lively question-answer session on the prospects and problems of the country and their well-defined roles. A number of NRB from the USA, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Japan, Italy, China, Sweden, New Zealand and Spain came up with a volley of questions, suggestions and problems before the chief adviser.
Making the NRBs voter, change in the behavior of bureaucrats, improper behavior at airport and NRBs’ facilities, opening Bangladesh embassy and consulate, developing skill of manpower, and means of quick sending of remittances were among others that came up as questions and suggestions.
Eight Bangladeshi scholars from home and abroad have been adjudged Scholars of the year 2007 in four fields — art and culture, science, technology and innovation, health and medicine, and education and research in honour of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, world-famous architect FR Khan, founder of BIRDEM hospital Dr M Ibrahim, renowned educationist and scientist Dr Kudrat-e-Khuda respectively.
The recipients are NRB Monirul Islam and Kalim Sharafi in art and culture, NRB Iqbal Z Quadir and Horipodo Kapali in science, technology and innovation, NRB Dr ABM Fazlul Karim and Dr MR Khan in health and medicine and NRB Professor Fazle Hussain and Dr Jamal Nazrul Islam in education and research.
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