The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organised a three-day training programme on economic analysis in Dhaka.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funded the programme through its project on Regional Trade and Agricultural Transformation in the Bay of Bengal Countries, said a press release of IFPRI.
The training marks a significant milestone following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between IFPRI
and BIMSTEC for collaborative research, capacity strengthening and policy engagement.
The comprehensive training programme involved the participation of lead specialists from BIMSTEC's priority sectors of Trade, Investment and Development, Environment and Climate Change, Security, Agriculture and Food Security, People-to-People Contact, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Connectivity and researchers and analysts from leading universities and think tanks based in Bangladesh.
"Economic analysis has become increasingly vital in today's complex and interconnected world. It provides a systematic framework to assess the potential impacts of policies, programmes, and interventions on various sectors of the economy,” said Tun Lynn Aung, Director of Agriculture & Food Security Division, BIMSTEC Secretariat.
Dr. Devesh Roy, Senior Research Fellow of IFPRI, said, "Agri-food trade being somewhat different from trade in manufacturing and services is a misconception and misplaced in current times.”
“The changing nature of linked trade at all levels, domestic, international, regional, and global, in times of Global Value Chains (GVC) requires the analytical capacity to understand the fast-changing dynamics for formulating policies,” he added.
Dr. Mamata Pradhan, Research Coordinator of IFPRI, said that BIMSTEC overarching framework for regional and national development efforts called for the promotion of analytical capacity to understand the possibilities in BIMSTEC.
