![SAES VI [2-4 Sepetember 2013]](http://cpd.org.bd/resources/2013/09/web_9658061877_1a2355db09_o.jpg)
The 6th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES VI) has kicked off on Monday, 2 September in Colombo, Sri Lanka with the overarching theme ‘Towards a Stronger, Dynamic, and Inclusive South Asia.’
Professor Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD is leading the participating CPD team, comprised of Dr Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow; Mr M Syeduzzaman, Member of CPD Board of Trustees and former Minister for Finance; Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Executive Director; Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow; Dr Fahmida Khatun, Research Director and Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Additional Research Director.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) is one of the SAES VI core partners. The summit is hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS).
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Day 1: (Monday, September 2) Professor Mustafizur Rahman addressed the Special Event: Road to Bali: South Asian Position for the 9th WTO Ministerial as one of the discussants and participated at the session ‘Working for Growth’ Creating Productive Employment.
Day 2: (Tuesday, September 3) Dr Fahmida Khatun participated in the expert panel discussion at the session Managing Water Resources, Food Security, and Climate Change in South Asia. Mr M Syeduzzaman chaired the session ‘Secure Sustenance’ Meeting the Food Security Challenge.
After Lunch, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya delivered the opening speech at the session Managing Intra-Country Growth Disparities in South Asia, while Professor Rehman Sobhan participated in the session’s expert panel discussion.
Later in the afternoon, Dr Rounaq Jahan chaired the session Mind the Gap: Addressing Gender Disparities, while Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya participated at the side event ESCAP Policy Dialogue: ‘Building Resilience to Natural Disasters and Major Economic Crises.’
Day 3: (Wednesday, September 4) Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem delivered the lead presentation at the session Improving the Climate for Private Enterprise in South Asia, followed by his participation at the session ‘Strengthening the Small’ Inclusive Private Sector Development through SMEs.
After lunch Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya delivered a short talk on Southern Development Goals? at the Special Event: In 60 Minutes, where six speakers gave short yet insightful talks on their view of South Asia’s future.
The closing session chaired by Professor Rehman Sobhan rounded off with his concluding remarks.
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More photos from the first day of the three-day event.
As it happens: Live updates from SAES VI Blog
The three day annual event, the sixth in a series, has attracted a gathering of experts from academia, civil society organisations and intergovernmental agencies in a South Asian Capital. About 150 participants are participating from across the eight member states of South Asia Regional Cooperation. The event is being supported by a range of donors, which include World Bank, IDRC, AusAID, The Asia Foundation, Oxfam, GIZ, etc.