Staff Correspondent
Industries minister Dilip Barua on Saturday said the government was mulling over formulation of a coordinated industrial policy aimed at keeping the wheels of economy running.
‘We want to focus more on our SME sector in the proposed industrial policy for facing [the impacts of] the ongoing global recession,’ the minister told the inaugural session of a consultation meeting with experts on the ‘Role of ICT for SME Development in Bangladesh’ organised by the SME Foundation in a city hotel.
The minister said the SME sector could eventually turn into a big one.
The SME Foundation is devoted to promoting small and medium enterprises across the country to create employment and accelerate the pace of industrialisation.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Jafar Osman, Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh president SM Nazrul Islam, and SME Foundation member Mirza Nurul Gani also spoke at the session, where M Kaikobad, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology presented the keynote.
The industries minister said many of the Asian nations, like Japan, South Korea, China and Malaysia, achieved tremendous success by developing the SME sector.
‘The SMEs could play a vital role in changing our destiny, as in Japan, if we can ensure political stability, an efficient labour force, and courageous investors,’ said Barua, chief of the Samyabadi Dal, a partner in the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government.
The government has initiated a move to prepare a new industrial policy, incorporating the required steps for ensuring all the three factors, he told the audience.
In this context, he observed that inadequacy of wealth is no problem for national development; the main problem is mindset, which has to be changed to cope with the situation.
He also added that building a digital Bangladesh is a firm commitment of the present government, not a mere lip service.
Courtesy: newagebd.com
