Mass Media to give peace, sustainable, cultural development to humanity: Inu

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, MP, said today that the media would work for peace, sustainable and cultural development.

The minister was speaking at the plenary session of the conference on World Information, Communication and Broadcasting Summit, 2016, here.

Chaired by the Korean Minister for Science, ICT and Future Planning Choi Yanghee the conference was organized by the Asian Institute of Broadcast Development (AIBD). 

Apart from the host country and Bangladesh, the other countries who participated at the meeting were Cambodia, Laos, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal. 

Explaining Bangladesh's context Inu said that discarding the legacy of autocracy the government of Sheikh Hasina was encouraging private television, FM and community radio. 

He said that advances in information and communication technology and the media was putting humanity in a glass house and the biggest threat to it was offensive material, cyber crime and militants were taking advantage of the freedom provided by new media. The regulators have to take legal and technical steps to restrain its abuse.

Inu further said the task of the mass media was not only to inform but also to educate and entertain. He further said that without spiritual and cultural development it was not possible to attain sustainable development. He also referred to Goal 16 of the UN's SDGs to support his statement .

The minister is being accompanied by the director generals of Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar S M Haroon-ur-Rashid and A K M Nesaruddin Bhuiyan, respectively and senior public relations officer of the information ministry Mir Akramuddin Ahmed. They will also attend the 13th Asian media summit scheduled from today (May 24) to May 26, 2016. 

Earlier in the day, the minister met the Korean minister for Science, ICT and Future Planning Choi Yanghee for bilateral talks. 

They agreed to frame a draft for a bilateral multi-media agreement. 

Besides, assistance in film development and increasing Bangladesh exports to Korea was also came up for discussion. 

The Bangladesh minister thanked KOIKA, the Korean overseas development agency, for assisting Bangladesh in agriculture and developing the nursing academy. 

Inu also conveyed the best wishes of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Korean president and prime minister.

Bangladesh ambassador to Republic of Korea Zulfiqar Rahman and other members of the Bangladesh delegation were also present during the meeting.

Source: BSS.