Keynote Presentations (4) & (5)
The second day of the International Conference on Economics, Business, Technology, and Management (ICEBTM) 2025 commenced with an engaging keynote session featuring two renowned speakers: Prof. Dr. Rajah Rasiah from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, and Dr. Ahmad Ahsan, Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI), Bangladesh. The session was chaired by Prof. Dr. Abdur Rab, Vice Chancellor of IUBAT, Bangladesh, and Dr. Ben Bvepfepfe of Leeds Trinity University and CILT, UK.
Prof. Dr. Rajah Rasiah opened his presentation by emphasizing the growing significance of industrial policy in shaping long-term economic transformation, particularly in the European Union. He highlighted that industrial development is deeply rooted in a culture of continuous learning and sustained free trade gradually leads to equalization across markets.
He explained that industrial upgrading requires not only choosing sectors to promote but also rebuilding and strengthening existing sectors through innovation-driven strategies. Reflecting on global value chains, Dr. Rasiah noted that they have undergone substantial restructuring since the global financial crisis, leading to improved economic positions for countries that were once considered poor.
Drawing comparative insights from East and Southeast Asia, he explained how Taiwan and South Korea advanced through strong national capital strategies, while Singapore adopted labor-intensive development models. Using illustrative charts, he demonstrated the rising contribution of manufacturing to GDP in successful economies and noted that only South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong have consistently achieved high value-added industrial growth.
He concluded by asserting that coherent policies, strong institutional capacity, and technological advancement are essential for achieving sustainable industrialization.
Dr. Ahmad Ahsan focused his keynote on Bangladesh’s current economic landscape and the structural constraints that pose challenges to sustained growth. He observed that longstanding issues related to power, energy, and climate change remain inadequately addressed, yet these challenges also present potential pathways for innovation and new opportunities.
Dr. Ahsan highlighted that Bangladesh currently records GDP growth of 4–4.5%, while private sector credit growth remains at 6%, far below the typical 15%. He pointed to declining employment, noting that more than two million individuals have left the workforce, signaling growing concerns around labor market readiness.
He emphasized that political stability, transparent election processes, and orderly governance are crucial to ensuring economic confidence. Presenting demographic projections, he noted that Bangladesh will experience a steady rise in its working-age population over the next 30 years—a potential demographic dividend that could significantly accelerate development if properly leveraged.
Dr. Ahsan also underscored Bangladesh’s structural challenges, including low productivity, limited financial depth, insufficient SME expansion, inadequate female labor force participation, and gaps in education and skills development. Despite fulfilling all three criteria for LDC graduation, Bangladesh remains vulnerable to external shocks. Without substantial reforms, especially in human capital development, economic diversification, infrastructure quality, and public service delivery, the country risks falling into the middle-income trap. He further identified rapid urbanization, centralized governance, and weak vocational training systems as additional bottlenecks.
The session concluded with Prof. Daniel Lu presenting tokens of appreciation to Session Chair Prof. Dr. Abdur Rab. The Vice Chancellor then awarded crests to Dr. Abdur Rab, Prof. Dr. Rajah Rasiah, and Dr. Ahmed Ahsan in recognition of their valuable contributions to the conference.
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YouTube: [1] https://www.youtube.com/live/BKbv8cUB1eU?si=mikPnIJ2IGWx0-fq
[2] https://www.youtube.com/live/a8XAqzcgeQQ?si=CvLAz-437qsS4Jz1