All will have to come forward in order to uphold the image of Bangladesh properly in the international index for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said planning minister MA Mannan on Wednesday said. “We are now in better position in the international index. We have to work properly to get success. There is no alternative without work,” he said while addressing a workshop on international index held at Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in the city’s Agargoan area.
“Our achievements and good efforts must be upheld for the world to know,” he added. The minister said, “We have known our problems, now we have to ensure fair justice. We always have talked about justice although we are surrounded by injustice. If injustices are not removed, poverty will not be removed from the country.”
The minister said, “We are clear about the reasons of poverty in the country, but we did not do anything about the matter.” Mannan further said, we have to work with honesty only then it will be possible to remove poverty from the country. Everyone should do their respective work fairly with honesty, he added.
“As patriots, we want to uphold our country’s images. But due to failure of publishing the right information, the international index is not properly reflected,” he added. The minister said Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is strongly committed to both SDGs and effective development of partnerships. “The current economic outlook suggests that the country is progressing well towards achieving SDGs,” he also said.
Principle secretary of Prime Minister, Nojibur Rahman said international index an important matter which can uphold SDGs progress in the international arena. Principle coordinator of Prime Minister Office on SDGs issue, Md Abul Kalam Azad said performance of our country is good in the international index. But news of this achievement has not spread far. Reports on this issue should be better, he added.
He also said Bangladesh is performing well and is on the track towards attaining multiple targets of the SDGs. Meanwhile, achieving SDGs will critically depend on the availability of resources including external support. The first three SDGs pertain to ending poverty, hunger and improving public health and Bangladesh has made good progress on all three and is on track to reach the targets. Of the 17 targets under the three SDGs, four have already been met, six are on track and five need more attention.