culture. The special guest was pessimistic about the existing mutual mistrust between the government and the opposition and observed that people are frustrated by the role of both the ruling and opposition parties.

Dwelling on the issue of oppositions' role in the formulation of the budget, the Finance Minister asserted that the government would try to incorporate the valued opinions and suggestions coming from the opposition in the budget. He also called on all the political parties to work collectively to ensure good governance, quality education and better health services for the betterment of the people of the country.

In his speech Mr Abdul Hamid underscored the importance of CPD initiative and highlighted the critical importance of dialogue and discussion with the participation of all major stakeholders.

CPD Executive Director Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Editor of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam and Editor of Prothom Alo Matiur Rahman also spoke on the occasion. The event was presided over by CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan.


Mr M Saifur Rahman, MP addresses the inaugural session of the Policy Review Forum as Chief Guest. Special Guest Mr Abdul Hamid, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Mr Matiur Rahman, Prof. Rehman Sobhan and Mr Mahfuz Anam are also seen in the picture.

In his opening statement, Dr Bhattacharya observed that the efforts of the civil society would never achieve the envisaged goal without a strong political will on the part of both the government and the opposition parties.

Speakers at the seminar expressed deep concerns over the state of the prevailing political and socioeconomic reality and agreed that the recommendations by the civil society would play a significant role in helping the government to identify developmental problems and take necessary corrective measures.

Presiding over the inaugural session, Professor Sobhan urged the government to take appropriate initiatives to bring the opposition to the parliament. He also suggested that a parliamentary committee on budget should be constituted to discuss the budget propositions and that this committee could be headed by an opposition lawmaker.

Working Sessions

Following the inaugural session, the 17 Task Forces presented their reports at dedicated sessions held on June 4-5, 2003. The sessions were held on budget, financial sector, trade policy, industrial policy, governance, democratic process, gender,

Foreign Minister Mr M Morshed Khan, MP speaks at the session on Governance while Eminent Lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain, CPD Chairman Professor Rehman Sobhan, and FEMA Chairman Mr Abul Ahsan look on.

energy, environment, ICT, administrative reform, transport and infrastructure, urban governance, rural economy, poverty eradication, education and health. These dialogue sessions were simultaneously conducted at three different venues - the CIRDAP Auditorium, the Academy for Planning and Development, and the National Press Club Auditorium. Participants at the dialogues included experts, politicians, academics, professionals, high-level government officials, and representatives of international development organisations and donor agencies. A number of political figures including ministers, state ministers, members of parliament both from the ruling and the opposition parties attended different sessions as chief guests and special guests.

Participants at the aforementioned dialogues put forward constructive criticism and valuable suggestions as regards the Task Force reports presented in the various meetings. They highly appreciated CPD's initiative and urged the government to take into cognisance the recommendations presented in the Task Force Report prepared by the country's civil society.

Closing Session

The closing session of the three-day National Policy Forum was attended by the Secretary General of BNP and Hon'ble Minister for Local Government Mr Abdul Mannan Bhuyian, MP as Chief Guest and AL Secretary General Mr Abdul Jalil as Special Guest. Both of them underscored the crucial

Participants at the closing session of the Forum: (From left to right) Mr Matiur Rahman, Mr Mahfuz Anam, AL Secretary General Mr Abdul Jalil, MP, LGRD Minister Mr Abdul Mannan Bhuyian, MP, Prof. Rehman Sobhan and Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya.