Be innovative and skilful was the message speakers gave to the youths of the country at a conference in Chittagong yesterday.

Addressing the Youth Conference organised by Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at Hotel Radisson Blu Chittagong, chief guest Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader termed the youths “brand ambassadors” of Bangladesh and urged them to be creative so that the country could take pride in them.

“We will not hire foreign consultants with tax-payers' money, you [the youths] will be the brand ambassadors of Bangladesh,” he said.

“When the World Bank left us terming us thieves regarding Padma Bridge project, was there anyone who could imagine that we would be able to construct the bridge?” he said, adding, “But today we have proved that we are not a nation of thieves but a nation of heroes.”

“Pakistan is ahead of Bangladesh only in making nuclear weapons,” he said, adding, “But we are not interested in that sort of a destructive thing. Pakistan is called the most dangerous country in the world …We would not let Bangladesh become a dangerous country.”

“Our common glory is the Liberation War, common danger is religious extremism and common enemy is poverty,” he said.

Former principal secretary Abdul Karim said the youths of our country are hard workers. He urged them to be keen on being entrepreneurs rather than looking for jobs.

He said hard work was more important than being talented and urged them to train themselves so that they could achieve their goals.

He asked the youths to learn English and another language on the side so that they could be better prepared at the global level.

CCCI President Mahbubul Alam said the youths were the most important resource in our country and that Bangladesh must make the best of this resource.

He said about 30 percent of the population was young people.

President of Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sarath Prematunge Kahapalarachchi, Awami League lawmaker MA Latif and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power and Energy Tajul Islam also spoke on the occasion.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, was a special guest and moderator of the programme.