Dhaka, May 9 (UNB) - Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday stressed the need for the optimum use of technology, including ICT, for sustainable development of the country.

“We must use the technology that we have for development,” he said while addressing the First Plenary Session of the Cultural Diversity Ministerial Forum of the Asia Pacific Region held at a city hotel.

Prof Dr Abul Barakat made the keynote presentation at the session titled ‘Integrating culture into the development agenda. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman moderated it.

Making his remarks as the chairperson of the session, Muhith said, “Jump into civilisation should be our objective. We’ll have to look into ways for preserving the diversity as well as fusion of various elements into a compact global system.”

The Finance Minister also observed that culture has staged a comeback in the mainstream because cultural objects have changed. “To me important is how you will bring in those elements which are the fundamentals public life.”

For the survival of an institution, Muhith said, there is a need to have three things -- patriotism, ethics and aesthetics.

During the session, the participants from different countries, including Bhutan, Pakistan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Bangladesh shared their views and experiences on how culture has been integrated in development policies and programmes, especially within the Asia-Pacific region.

They suggested protecting old cultures, ensuring necessary finance for the protection of cultures, launching a Saarc educational and media satellite and forging unity among diversified culture.

Earlier, in his presentation, Prof Abul Barakat said culture has a strong causal effect on economic development and observed that research on the economic effects of culture is still in its infancy.

He also hoped that the importance of culture for long-run growth will help spur research in this direction.