DHAKA : Speaker of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, today said Members of Parliament (MPs) have a vital role to play in establishing a sustainable, discrimination-less and human resource-based society.

He said the country’s development could be further accelerated by bringing issues related to demographic transition, demographic dividend and sustainable development into parliamentary discussions and formulating effective laws and policies.

The Speaker made the remarks while addressing an orientation workshop titled “The Role of Parliament in Achieving Demographic Dividend, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Implementing the ICPD Commitments” as the chief guest at the oath room of the Jatiya Sangsad.

 The workshop was organised under the Strengthening Parliament’s Capacity in Population and Development Issues (SPCPD) project.

Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal chaired the event. Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Secretary Barrister Md Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan delivered the welcome address, while Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni, MP, spoke as the special guest, said a press release of the parliament secretariat.

The Speaker said Bangladesh is now at a historic juncture and that the government’s various initiatives would play an important role in implementing this year’s World Population Day theme: “Empowering Young People to Create the Families They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World.”

He stressed the need to transform the country’s large youth population into skilled human resources so that the demographic dividend could be effectively utilised to accelerate socio-economic development.

Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said the formation of the Bangladesh Parliamentarians’ Forum on Population and Development (BAPPD), with the strategic support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), would further strengthen lawmakers’ role in legislating and formulating policies on population and development issues.

He said incorporating issues such as preventing child marriage, strengthening enforcement of related laws, ensuring adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, and achieving the demographic dividend into the activities of parliamentary committees would help attain the desired goals more effectively.

The Speaker expressed hope that the SPCPD project would make a meaningful contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the areas of health, gender equality, youth development and climate change.

Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni said Bangladesh is currently passing through a demographic phase where a large proportion of the population is young, making it imperative for lawmakers to play an active role at both national and local levels to convert the demographic dividend into economic prosperity.

He said the demographic dividend is not an automatic achievement but the outcome of planned investment. 

Ensuring quality education, technical skills and improved healthcare for young people would create enormous opportunities for the country’s economy, he added, warning that failure to do so could turn this potential into social and economic challenges.

At the workshop, the Speaker and other speakers expressed deep condolences at the death of former Speaker Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar and prayed for the eternal peace of his departed soul.

Members of Parliament, the UNFPA Bangladesh Country Representative, the project director and senior officials of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat were present at the programme.