| "Amra Jante Chai" Roundtable on Energy Security at Dhaka University |
| Friday, 23 October 2009 08:16 |
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On 22 October, Jagoree organized a roundtable with prominent young entrepreneurs, business leaders, energy professionals and activists at Dhaka University Munir Chowdhury Auditorium. The roundtable, titled "Energy Security in Bangladesh: Vision from next generation business leaders, was organized as the first major event of the "Amra Jante Chai" People's Policy Series. In the roundtable, the participants shared their views on the issue of energy security, and discussed what role the business community is expected and/or is able to play on this grave national issue. Links: Part 2 of video | Part 3 of video In the discussion, there seemed to be a consensus that energy security is crucial for Bangladesh's development, and the business community also has a huge stake in this issue. However, several business leaders argued that they are already marginalized and cannot afford to speak up openly about such issues. Some energy entrepreneurs and all energy activists insisted that Bangladesh has the capacity to develop its own power, if not in the public sector then in the private sector. However, many, both businessmen and activists, agreed that the government seemed to be partial towards foreign companies and restricted entry and competition of local businesses. In summary, the discussion concluded that the government needs to be more transparent in their decisions and demonstrate their political will about developing Bangladesh.
The event started with an introduction from Tahmina Khanam, and from the moderators, Mridul Chowdhury and Mahrukh Mohiuddin, all founder members of Jagoree. Moshahida Sultana (Jagoree, Dhaka University Faculty) then gave a presentation on the key issues of the topic, followed by an open discussion of two hours among the participants. |
