Bangladesh backs rules-based order, collective action: Says Touhid

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain yesterday said Bangladesh, as a responsible neighbour and an active member of the UN and other international bodies, advocates a rules-based international order and collective action in addressing global economic challenges.

“We support active engagement to promote dialogue, confidence-building, and cooperative solutions to shared concerns,” he said while speaking at the inaugural session of the SAFA (South Asian Federation of Accountants) International Conference in Dhaka.

Chairperson of Bangladesh Competition Commission AHM Ahsan and Financial Reporting Council Bangladesh Chairman Dr Sajjad Hossain Bhuiyan attended the conference as special guests.

Organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), the conference was themed “Next Generation Profession: Converging Ethical AI and Sustainability Reporting.”

For Bangladesh, the adviser said, the proposed convergence of technology and sustainability is particularly significant.

“Our pursuit of economic growth and deeper global integration requires that our professionals remain not only technically proficient, but also ethically grounded and socially responsible,” he said.

He said platforms such as the conference play a vital role in facilitating the exchange of knowledge, sharing best practices, and fostering meaningful collaborations.

“Such engagements can steer both the region and the global community toward a sustainable, inclusive, and technologically advanced future,” he added.

The keynote speech was delivered by Adeeb Hossain Khan, past president of ICAB and senior partner at Rahman Rahman Huq, Chartered Accountants.

Delegates from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka took part in the event, which featured three technical sessions and a valedictory session.

The global accounting profession is entering a new phase as ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) and sustainability reporting begin to converge, reshaping business risk, investor expectations, and public trust, experts highlighted at the SAFA international conference.

For the first time in Dhaka, ICAB hosted Jean Bouquot, president of the International Federation of Accountants, the world’s apex body of the accounting profession, along with Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, adviser to SAFA, as guests of honour.