“We are working with the people. If we can establish sustainable democracy and make the people aware of their power, then we can achieve economic, social and intellectual inclusion,” he said.
Mannan was speaking at the 4th SANEM annual Economists Conference-2019 titled ‘Governing New Challenges: Inclusive Development, Trade and Finance’ at Brac Centre Inn in the capital.
He said poverty rate has declined and noted that one in every five person was poor. “We have to go further and there is no alternative to hard work,” the minister said.
“There are times when we make mistakes. And you (the researchers) point those out. We learn from your criticisms and amend the loopholes you find,” he said.
“We encourage South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and others organisations to do relevant research,” the minister said, promising support.
Dr Bazul Haque Khondker, chairman of SANEM, presided over the function while Dr Selim Raihan, executive director of the organisation, delivered opening remarks.
Dr Nagesh Kumar, Director of ESCAP-SSWA, New Delhi, and Dr Binayak Sen, Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), read the keynote papers.