28 November 2023, Tuesday:  

Bangladesh Embassy in Stockholm and Sweden-Bangladesh Business Council (SBBC) jointly organized a seminar on ´Waste Management´ in hybrid format at the Embassy today. Participants from Bangladesh and Sweden included officials from the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives of Bangladesh, representatives of city /municipal corporations of Bangladesh, Department of Public Health Engineering, Local Government Engineering Division, members of SBBC, experts from Swedish institutions/business enterprises and officials from the Bangladesh Embassy etc.

The seminar started with a warm welcome by H. E. Mr. Mehdi Hasan, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Sweden. During his inaugural address, the H.E. Ambassador focused on importance of waste management system in Bangladesh and exchange of knowledge and best practices between the two nations. H.E. Ambassador also underlined the environmental, social and economic dimensions of waste management.

Mr. Nora Alam Siddique, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives of Bangladesh, in his presentation, discussed the state of waste management in Bangladesh today, as well as the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in this field.

Representatives of Swedish organizations Avfall Sverige, IVL- Smart city Sweden, SWECO and Elof Hansson also made presentations sharing their experiences and successes in waste management initiatives in Sweden and other countries of the world. They also highlighted on the sharing of their knowledge and experience in waste management process of Bangladesh.

Dr. Malay Choudhury, Additional Secretary, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, in his closing remarks, commended everyone for participating in this timely seminar and wished for more cooperation with Sweden in this waste management process in the coming days.

Ms Nathalie Tranefeldt, president of SBBC, anchored the whole seminar. The participants present and connected online spontaneously took part in the Seminar, where the major takeways were -- Zero landfill, Source separation, Waste=Resources, Sustainable operation and maintenance of waste management projects, Synergy between stakeholders (municipal authorities and community) etc.