Monday, November 21
09:30 – 10:30-Grand Ballroom
Inaugural Session:
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Zillur Rahman, Executive Director, Centre for Governance Studies and Chair, Bay of Bengal Conversation
Dr. A K Abdul Momen MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
Boris Tadic, Former President, Serbia, Full Member, Club de Madrid
Dr. Manjur A Chowdhury, Chairman, Centre for Governance Studies, Bangladesh
Tea/Coffee Break - Ballroom Foyer
11:00 – 11:50 - Grand Ballroom
Plenary Session : The Integration Agenda: A Roadmap Towards SDGs
11:50 – 12:40 - Grand Ballroom
Regional integration in South Asia has been a forgone cause since the great partitions. At a glance, it would seem that South Asian countries are more interested in forming ties overseas rather than with their next-door neighbors. Economic realities and ideological differences are driving a wedge in regional cooperation frameworks which had so much collective potential. A cross-border electricity trade in the Bangladesh–Bhutan– India– Nepal (BBIN) Region can alleviate so much hardship and provide opportunities to better utilize national resources in the region. But can such agendas ever be brought to the table when nations are entirely preoccupied with fending for themselves? How can the governance challenges associated with creating such integration initiatives be addressed? And what role may the private sector play in facilitating such initiatives?
Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh
Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh
Dr. Pramod Jaiswal, Research Director, Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement
Dr. Asif Iqbal Siddiqui, Lead Academic, Curtin University, Australia
Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador, Pakistan
Dr. Sayema Haque Bidisha, Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (Moderator)
Plenary Session: Untangling the myriad of multilateral frameworks in the Indo-Pacific Setting the Agenda
Peter D Haas, US Ambassador to Bangladesh
Panelists
12:40 – 13:10 - Grand Ballroom
When it comes to regional and extra-regional cooperation frameworks, it is impossible to say that the Indo-Pacific region is lacking. In fact, the issue now seems to be that the waters of the Indo-Pacific are being diluted with the sheer number of acronyms. Now we have SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN, Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), QUAD, AUKUS, and so on. Our development partners from the USA, UK, and Japan have expressed their eagerness to enter this fray, but the two questions on everyone’s mind are: Why here? Why now?
Robert Chatterton Dickson, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh
Jeremy Bruer, Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh
Ito Naoki, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh
Zillur Rahman, Executive Director, Centre for Governance Studies, Bangladesh
Sounding Board: Forest for the Trees: the Unsung Role of Nature Conservation in Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
13:10 – 13:40 - Grand Ballroom
One of the most effective methods of combating the adverse effects of climate change and fossil fuel usage is to adopt a strong and resilient national natural resource conservation policy. For cross-boundary collaboration efforts at protecting the environment, we must first form an inclusive view of natural resource management around the Bay of Bengal region. Important questions need to be asked and answered about how Natural Resource Management challenges in the region are being addressed. Through sustained dialogue, we can emphasize the critical role of forests in climate change adaptation and mitigation and highlight the importance of engaging people at different institutional and social levels, from local communities to government agencies?
Justin Green, International Programs, US Forest Service
Edward L. Vargo, Professor and Endowed Chair, Urban and Structural Entomology, Texas A&M University, USA
Dr. Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman, National River Conservation Commission, and Chairman, Centre for Governance Studies, Bangladesh (Moderator)
In Conversation:
13:40 – 14:40 – Lunch : Ballroom
Boris Tadic, Former President, Serbia, Full Member, Club de Madrid
Ali Aslan, International TV Presenter, Moderator, and Journalist, Germany (Moderator)
Conversations over Lunch: The Red Signal to Green Governance at Surma
The idea of green governance evokes a utopian image of technologically advanced civilizations living in harmony with nature while maintaining a healthy economy and population enjoying high living standards. If we were to compare the current economic realities of South Asia with this utopian vision, we would find that the plans for green governance have yet to leave the drawing boards. It is high time to ask ourselves: Is the current level of economic development in the bay of Bengal environmentally sustainable? How can the region grow without exasperating its carbon footprint, which is expanding day by day? How can nations and peoples find sustainable and multilateral solutions to green energy for the future? And what is the sustainable regional solution to increasing pollution in the bay?
Dr. Ijaz Hossain, Retired Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Dr. Md. Nuruzzaman, Director, Research and Publications, National Academy for Planning and Development, Bangladesh
Dr. Sadeka Halim, Professor of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Emmanuel Antwi Akoto, Project Manager, BSW – Bundesverb and
Solarwirtschaft e.V.Ghana
Dr. Sebastian Groh, Associate Professor, BRAC Business School, Bangladesh (Moderator)
Technology: Finding the Future’s Footprint at Meghna
Now is the era of 5G telecommunications, AI and IoT software, drone robotics, and autonomous electrical vehicles. The Fourth Industrial revolution is already upon us. Technological development is occurring at a breakneck pace; what is new today is becoming obsolete tomorrow. Taking advantage of all the disruption and chaos, we see the rise of corporate giants who singlehandedly shape humanity’s future. PROGRAM PROGRAM 17 In the next 10, 20, and 30 years, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will upend and transform the world for better and worse, but are we prepared to handle the consequences of such a brave new world? Now more than ever, it is essential to see who are truly at the reigns of this runaway carriage. Massive industrial revolutions have also led to enormous inequity in the past; will this new revolution be any different? How will our socio-economic fabrics be altered by the cutting edge? Who will get left behind, and who will take on the mantle? And what will be the fate of the developing nations and peoples of the world who can barely keep up as is?
Sheikh Danial, Director, Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited, Bangladesh
Shimelse Mekonnen, Co-Founder, MeSh Cart, USA
JP Singh, Software Engineer, Entrepreneur, and Activist, India
Mario De Pinto, Consultant in Strategy Public Policy and Communication, Italy (Moderator)
Rediscovering the South Asian Identity at Chitra
The Lack of people-to-people familiarity among the nations of South Asia is a geopolitical phenomenon scarcely talked about. While members of multilateral frameworks in Europe and Southeast Asia have managed to form kinship and a shared geopolitical heritage, South Asia remains a region lacking a common identity. However, historical records indicate a time when South Asia was fairly interconnected in both trade and culture. What are the primary factors holding back fraternity and kinship among modern South Asian nations? And how can the region rediscover a cohesive regional identity once again?
Touseef Raina, Chairman, Global Youth Foundation and Politician, India
Asif Durrani, Former Diplomat, Pakistan
Dr. Habibul Haque Khondker, Professor of Sociology, Zayed University, UAE (Moderator)
Ministerial Speech:
14:50 – 15:00 - Grand Ballroom
Asaduzzaman Khan MP, Minister of Home Affairs, Bangladesh
Speed Talks:
15:00 – 15:15 - Grand Ballroom
Suhasini Haider, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu, India
Guest of Honor :
15:15 – 16:00 - Grand Ballroom
Dr. A K Abdul Momen MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh
Plenary Session: Democracy X.0: Mandate of the Mass
16:00 – 16:20 - Grand Ballroom
In all major indexes, we are seeing the telltale signs of Democratic backsliding. After the third wave of democratization simmered, populist leaders and authoritarian governance again came into vogue. The nations of South Asia all face unique challenges in implementing electoral democracy. Cultural divides have flared up; tolerance is at an all-time low. The question can now be raised, how can developing nations provide democratic power to the people in an equitable manner? How can minorities exercise democratic power without disenfranchising the majority? And how can the culture of democracy take root in a region where democracy might have never truly existed before?
Dana L. Olds, Chief of Party, Democracy International, Bangladesh
Rani Yan Yan, Adviser, Chakma Circle, and Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defender, Bangladesh
Kazi Faisal Bin Seraj, Country Representative, The Asia Foundation, Bangladesh
Jovan Ratcovic, Former Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Serbia
Nurul Kabir, Editor, New Age, Bangladesh
Zeina Jallad, Lawyer and Human Rights Scholar, Palestine (Moderator)
Speed Talks:
Bangladesh-India Relations: Too Close for Comfort?
Dr. Ali Riaz, Distinguished Professor, Illinois State University, USA
Geopolitical Tensions, Geoeconomic Disruptions. The Economy of Tomorrow in the Asia-Pacific
16:20 – 17:05 - Grand Ballroom
Marc Saxer, Head of Asia Regional Project, Friedrich – Ebert – Stiftung, Germany
Plenary Session :
100 Seconds to Midnight: Converging Crises Across the World
17:05 – 17:30
Since 2020, the doomsday clock has remained stuck at 100 seconds. Time seems to have frozen right as things prove most dire. The back-to-back effect of a deadly worldwide pandemic, followed by the war in Ukraine; The failure of world leaders to deal with the increased threat of nuclear war; Escalating tensions between the USA, Russia, and China; An ongoing global economic recession; A looming worldwide food crisis; and lack of collective actions to mitigate climate change; all point to an eventual boiling point when multiple crises in multiple regions push us over the edge and into the abyss. South Asia also stands at a turning point due to external and internal factors. The ongoing economic collapse in Sri Lanka and the potential for economic collapse in Bangladesh and other South Asian countries is a reality that is far too close for comfort. Humankind is historically slow to act unless the first blow is received. But the fear is, will the next blow be the last?
Dr. Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, Chairman and Professor, Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka
Dr. C. Christine Fair, Professor, Securities Studies Program, Edmund A. Walsh, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA
Greg Simons, Associate Professor, Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden
Dr. Satoru Nagao, Non-Resident Fellow, Hudson Institute, USA
Anil Kumar Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, and Former Ambassador, India
Dr. Nancy Snow, Founder & Director, Global Persuasion Strategies (GPS), East Asia and USA (Moderator)
Tea / Coffee - Ballroom Foyer
19:30 – 22:30 - Grand Ballroom
Gala Dinner (By Invitation Only)