IUB hosts nat’l dialogue on trade resilience

City Desk

The Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBoBS) and the Department of Global Studies and Governance (GSG) of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) jointly organised a seminar titled “Global Shipping Issues Affecting Bangladesh: Challenges and Pathways to Resilient Solutions for Blue Economy”, at IUB.

The event brought together key policymakers, industry leaders, and academics to assess global shipping challenges and outline strategies to strengthen Bangladesh’s maritime resilience and blue economy, says a press release.

Brigadier General (Retd) Dr. M. Sakhawat Hussain, Advisor to the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Jute and Textiles, attended the seminar as Chief Guest. Recognized for his ministerial-level influence on national shipping and economic policy, Dr. Hussain emphasized that sustainable port development and international investment are central to Bangladesh’s global trade connectivity.

He stated, “We want international investment in ports. Without it, the ports are nowhere in the dot. We can talk about the blue economy all day, but without good ports global connectivity is hampered. We need a solid port strategy and experts to look into it.”

Prof. M. Tamim, Vice Chancellor of IUB, delivered the welcome remarks. Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam (Retd), Director of CBoBS, presented the keynote address highlighting the relationship between ecological responsibility and economic growth.

Prof. Tamim said, “If the sea is not taken care of, then the society and economy will never flourish. Unless we look into our ecology, our economy will not rise well. We have to start thinking out of the box for better results and work on our skills and capacity.