‘Democracy essential for economic development’

Democracy is ‘essential’ for continued economic development, says a Bangladeshi professor at the UK’s Ulster University.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 18 Feb 2017, 10:06 AM
Updated : 18 Feb 2017, 11:12 AM

Dr Siddiqur Rahman Osmani made the comment during the two-day long South Asian Network of Economic Modelling (SANEM) Conference at Dhaka’s BRAC-In Centre on Sunday.

Though some states had managed to achieve periods of economic development without democracy, they could not maintain that development for long, he said.

Osmani used war-torn Syria to illustrate his point. In his opinion the current situation would not have resulted under a democratic system.

The professor also called for a social culture to support democracy.

The professor said such a culture would shore up institutions and ensure peaceful transitions of power.

“We have to build up a strong democratic mentality,” he said. “We need to prepare. We need to begin practising democracy and slowly make it stronger.”

During the event Professor David Hume of Manchester University praised Bangladesh for its climate change alleviation efforts.

The work had turned Bangladesh into an international ‘role model’, he said.

Climate change alleviation is a major challenge, he said and added that Bangladesh must do more to alleviate the damage from flash floods, storm surges and other natural disasters.

The conference was led by SANEM Chairman Dr Bajlul Haque Khandker and also featured a speech by Dhaka University Professor Dr Selim Raihan.