New York: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the international community has the responsibility to ensure easy transfer of technology at low cost among all countries of the world to face the possible challenges and risks during the era of this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

She made the remarks while delivering her speech at the World Economic Forum’s plenary session titled ‘Sustainable Development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ at the Plenary Hall of the UN headquarters here on Tuesday, reports the UNB.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque briefed reporters after the event held with President of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Borge Brende in the chair.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Johnson & Johnson CEO and Mozilla Firefox CEO were invited to attend the WEF’s plenary session.

The speakers focused on the activities of different countries to deal with the possible impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in terms of education, job and health.

The invitees were asked to inform what they think about the possible challenges and risks due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In her response, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is a small country having huge population. ‘So, the biggest challenges are to ensure their food security, provide them with proper education and equipped them technologically so that they can secure jobs in the changed situation,’ she said.

Talking about ‘Digital Bangladesh’, Hasina mentioned her government’s vision over how Bangladesh can get connected with the world so that its people can be benefited.

‘The international community has the responsibility so that we can get the technology easily at low cost as we’re not major technology-producing countries.’

Hasina said Bangladesh needs to make its people equipped with technological skills by introducing different vocational training programmes so that they can remove the risks of losing jobs in this era.

She mentioned about Bangladesh’s different programmes in the educational sector, including distribution of free textbooks and providing stipends to promote women education. ‘Now more than four crore students are getting stipends in Bangladesh,’ she added.

Addressing the event, Dutch Prime Minister appreciated the Bangladesh Prime Minister for providing shelter to forcibly displaced Rohingyas cordially.

All the participants warmly welcomed this appreciation clapping hands.

Later, WEF President Borge Brende sat in a separate meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister at the Call on Room of Place of Residence.

The WEF President invited the Prime Minister to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum to be held at Davos in Switzerland in January 2019.

Some 100 heads of government and State as well as big investors usually join the annual meeting. ‘So, Bangladesh can raise its investment and development scenarios at the meeting,’ said the WEF President praising Sheikh Hasina for the development of Bangladesh.

Hasina also had a meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the UN headquarters.

Queen Maxima, who is a special representative of the UN Secretary General on Social Inclusion, congratulated the Prime Minister on Bangladesh’s outstanding improvement in the financial social inclusion according to the Little Data Book on Financial Inclusion 2018, a publication of the World Bank group.

The Dutch queen said Bangladesh has done better than many other countries in the financial inclusion index and assured of working with Bangladesh continuously in this regard.