Online Desk:  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to leave for Bangkok, Thailand on April 24 to attend the eightieth session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) which will be held from April 22 to 26 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.

Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and PM’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman will accompany the prime minister during the visit, a senior official told UNB.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak and State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu will also be part of the Bangladesh delegation, he said.

Discussions are underway to add a bilateral component of the visit which might see signing of a half a dozen bilateral cooperation documents, said a diplomatic source.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on April 27.

Guided by the theme “Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific”, the eightieth session will be an opportunity to strengthen region-wide cooperative action on leveraging digital innovation for the accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The session will bring together government leaders and ministers from across Asia and the Pacific and other key stakeholders to discuss how digital innovation can more inclusively contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across multiple disciplines.

Moreover, participants will be able to identify opportunities to fully unleash the transformative potential of digital innovations and discuss pathways to strengthen their contribution to sustainable development, said the organizers.

A digital innovation fair will provide space to engage with a broad range of partners and stakeholders showcasing digital innovations that are already contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across the region.

Asia and the Pacific is uniquely placed to leverage digital technologies to overcome sustainable development challenges.

Already, the region is recognized as a dynamic hub for digitally driven innovation fueled by pioneering technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital Finance, GovTech, and the Internet of Things. Yet to encourage further ingenuity and tap digital innovation to bolster the huge collective effort required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the region needs a plan.