Bay of Bengal Conversation 4th edition begins Saturday
The Bay of Bengal Conversation, featuring intellectuals, politicians, diplomats, and media personalities from various countries, will begin tomorrow, Saturday, in Dhaka.
This event, being held for the fourth time, will continue for three consecutive days.
Center for Governance Studies (CGS), which has organised the event, held a press conference on this occasion at a hotel in the capital today, Friday.
CGS president Zillur Rahman explained the details of the event. Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed will inaugurate the programme at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.
Zillur Rahman said that everyone is going through a period of transition. New partnerships are emerging. In this era of politics, economy, and technology, the Bay of Bengal region now occupies a significant position.
CGS said that this fourth edition of the conference will host 200 speakers, representatives from 85 countries, and over 1,000 participants. The theme for this year is: “Rivals, Ruptures, Realignments." The conference will run from 22 to 24 November.
Zillur Rahman said that everyone is going through a period of transition. New partnerships are emerging. In this era of politics, economy, and technology, the Bay of Bengal region now occupies a significant position.
The CGS president further noted that the future implications of these changes, especially for Bangladesh and the region, will be addressed during the discussions at the conference.
Zillur Rahman said that organising the Bay of Bengal Conference during the first two years had bitter experiences under the previous government. During the first year’s event, there was constant intelligence surveillance at the hotel. Sponsors were threatened, and foreign guests were sometimes prevented from attending.
He further said that nothing is easy in the reality of Bangladesh without working with the government. He added that his organisation operates transparently in terms of work. Details about the financing of this event are also available on the website.
This year’s conference will feature five central agenda, which were highlighted at the press conference by CGS executive director Parvez Karim Abbasi. He said that this is one of the largest geopolitical conferences in South Asia.
The five agendas are: shifting alliances and the new geometry of power; crisis multiplied: war, fragility, and the end of global stability?; AI, disinformation, and the weaponisation of knowledge; economic realignments in an era of sanctions, debt, and de-risking, and climate, borders, and security in a warming bay.
CGS programme director Subir Das and chief of staff Depanjali Roy were also present at the press conference.