Member of University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Bishwajit Chanda has said that Bangladesh is now in a better position in development indicators compared to India and Pakistan despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
He made the comment while speaking as the chief guest at a two-day international conference titled ‘South Asia in the Post-COVID Global Crisis: Politics, Economy, and Society’ began at Rajshahi University (RU) on Monday.
Organized by RU Social Science Faculty, the inaugural ceremony was held at the Senate Building.
Prof Shelly Fendman from Cornell University in USA presented the keynote paper in the event with RU Vice-chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar in the chair. Pro-VCs Professor Sultan-Ul-Islam and Professor Humayun Kabir, Social Science Faculty Dean Professor Iliash Hossain and Member-secretary of the conference Professor Bijoy Krishna Banik also spoke on the occasion. Professor Bishwajit Chanda said that there is an urgent need of setting sustainable development targets through integrated planning in Bangladesh.
He hoped that the conference will sort out the post-Covid challenges and way-forwards for facing those effectively.
Salient feature of the conference is the presentation of 48 papers in 12 academic sessions on the opening day, while 108 more papers in 18 academic sessions on the second day.
More than 300 teachers, researchers and students from the institutions concerned in home and abroad are taking part in the conference.