On the eve of the day, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed their happiness that Bangladesh is going to observe the day for the first time in the Mujib Year.
President Abdul Hamid in his message said, “The role of statistics is very important in national planning and socio-economic development. Accurate statistics are a prerequisite for effective planning. Extensive use of statistics in quantitative and qualitative measures is observed in all economic, demographic and social fields”.
In order to transform the country from a developing to a developed country, it is necessary to ensure the application of accurate and timely statistics in every sector, he said.
Noting that the use of accurate and timely statistics is essential for the development and progress of any country, which is also not different for developing countries like Bangladesh, Hamid said the application of accurate and timely statistics in every sector can transform the country into a developed country fast from a developing one.
The government of Bangladesh is very much sincere for modernization of the national statistics system and its use for the development activities, the President said, adding, “I am happy to know that the Statistics Act 2013 and related national strategies have been formulated for the development of the national statistics system”.
Prime Minister in her message said, “After the Great Liberation War of 1971, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the greatest Bengali of all time, the father of the nation, realized the importance of statistics in proper planning, development and monitoring of progress in Bangladesh.”
Realizing the importance of the national statistical system, the Awami League government in its cabinet meeting decided to observe ‘National Statistics Day’ on February 26, she said, adding, “Statistics is a measure of development and all other activities of the society including economy.”
“Our government is committed to collecting and publishing the necessary, timely and quality statistics for decision-making and planning
in all areas, we are always striving for timely and expeditious use of modern technology in data processing and identification, on-demand data supply and statistical activities in making the right decisions to meet the challenges of globalization.”
“I believe that accurate, reliable and timely statistics serve as the basis for sustainable development planning and decision-making and help us understand the changing world. Data availability has been identified as the most important challenge in monitoring sustainable development goals,” she said.
To address these challenges, BBS, as the national statistics agency, has been working tirelessly to provide data on 105 of the 231 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, BBS is coordinating with other data providers, ministries, departments, agencies to provide up-to-date data, she further said.
She urged planners, policy makers, academics and researchers, who are working tirelessly for the sustainable development of the country, to make the best use of their existing statistics as she thinks the celebration of National Statistics Day is a unique opportunity to make the people aware of the importance of statistics.
In this global corona-epidemic situation on the eve of the golden jubilee of independence, we will be able to build a middle-income country by 2021 and a hunger-poverty-free developed and prosperous Bangladesh by 2041 by adopting appropriate plans with timely and accurate statistics, said the premier.
They wished overall success to all the programs taken on the occasion of ‘National Statistics Day 2021’.
(BSS)
