Make Cirdap vibrant for poverty cut
Speakers urge member states
Dr Durga P Paudyal speaks at a discussion organised by Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (Cirdap) at its auditorium in the city yesterday. On his right are Dr Mustafa K Mujeri and Dr SK Singh and on his left is Dr Anwara Begum. Photo: STAR
The member nations must actively involve and support the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (Cirdap) to make the organisation more dynamic and help alleviate poverty and promote rural development in this region, speakers at a discussion said yesterday. They also said Cirdap, a regional, intergovernmental, and autonomous organisation, should develop a policy itself to serve the member states more effectively. The discussion titled "Revisiting Cirdap perspective: Challenges and opportunities" was organised at Cirdap auditorium in the city, marking the 32nd anniversary of the organisation. Set up on July 6, 1979, at the initiative of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with support from several other UN bodies and donors, Cirdap now has 15 members including Bangladesh (host state), India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. "It is understood that Cirdap is required. But its presence should be visible in the member countries", said Dr Durga P Paudyal, director general of Cirdap. Presenting the keynote paper, Dr Mustafa K Mujeri, director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said Cirdap should adopt effective measures to evaluate its outcomes and activities in the member countries. In the open discussion, the speakers stressed involving the civil societies, non-government organisations, and the ministries concerned in the member states to adopt effective programmes and implement those to achieve the success. They also said the success stories of rural development and poverty alleviation should be shared among the member countries and examine the factors behind to use those effectively in this region. Cirdap officials, academics, and development experts spoke at the programme.
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