Bangladeshi scientist nominated to UN technology bank panel

Bangladeshi scientist Firdausi Qadri has been nominated to a UN panel to assess the scope and functions of the proposed UN technology bank, media reported Thursday.

The bank will be dedicated to helping the least developed countries (LDCs) emerge out of poverty, bdnews24.com reported citing a statement from the spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"The secretary-general has asked the high-level panel to give practical recommendations on the matter, which can provide a strong impetus to accelerating structural transformation and sustainable development of the LDCs," the statement said.

Qadri is currently the director of the Centre for Vaccine Sciences at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B).

Bangladesh's permanent representative at the UN, A.K.A. Momen said: "We had proposed the technology bank's headquarters to be established in Dhaka during UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's 2011 visit to Bangladesh."

"The South-South Cooperation Summit of the UN would be held in Dhaka in February. We will then propose the setting up of a science and technology centre in Dhaka. Even if we don't get the headquarters of the technology bank, initiatives will be taken to use this centre as the regional branch of it," he said.

The technology bank panel will be chaired by Rwanda's Romain Murenzi, currently executive director of the World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy.

Constituted in response to a request to the secretary-general by the UN General Assembly during its 68th session, the panel will hold its first meeting in February 2015 and is expected to submit its report to the secretary-general during the summer of next year, the UN website noted.