The inauguration of a two-week African-Asian training workshop titled Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Financial Inclusion and Rural Transformation was held at the Bangladesh Rural Development Academy in Cumilla on Monday.
Presided over by director general of BARD, Saif Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman was present as special, and head of finance division of African-Asian Rural Development Organisation, Aslam Khan, was present as guest of honour at the ceremony, said a press release.
Twenty senior officials from 12 countries, including Sri Lanka, Egypt, India, Ghana, Zambia, Namibia, Gambia, Pakistan, Oman, Malaysia, Kenya and Bangladesh are participating in the workshop.
Saif Uddin Ahmed said that from the training workshop, the trainees would be able to adopt the right action plan for the inclusion of the poor in financial institutions through mutual interaction among themselves.
BARD has been working through cooperatives since the 1960s to ensure financial inclusion among the rural population and has continued to do so, he added.
Aslam Khan said that such international and regional workshops were effective and helpful, so the workshop was being organised by BARD with representatives of ARDO member countries.
The objective of the workshop is to enhance the capacity of policy makers and financial service providers of the ARDO member countries to adopt and implement financial inclusion programmes in rural areas, keeping in mind the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
BARD鈥檚 director for training, Abdullah Al Mamun, delivered welcome speech at the opening ceremony.
The workshop director, Shishir Kumar Munshi, introduced the workshop to the participants. The associate and assistant workshop directors are BARD鈥檚 joint director Md Abu Taleb, and BARD鈥檚 assistant director Abdullah-Al-Mamun.