President urges optimal use of the country's demographic dividend

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today called for the optimum utilization of the country's demographic dividend.

"The largest segment of the country's population structure is the youth. This is known as the demographic dividend. It is a great asset and opportunity for the country and the utilization of this vast opportunity will bring success for us," he said.

The President made the remarks while inaugurating the National Youth Day-2026 at a program held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital today.

The President said Bangladesh is still a least developed country (LDC) and is expected to graduate from the LDC category and become a developing country. The preparation period for this transition has been extended by another three years.

"The necessary capacities must be developed during this period so that Bangladesh can remain competitive after graduating to a developing country," he said.

"Country's youth can play the most significant role in this regard. They are the principal driving force of the future and the responsibility for building that future also rests in their hands," he added.

The President said the youth must be made employment-oriented to move Bangladesh forward. The driving force of production and economy must be placed in their hands.

"A country cannot be advanced solely through political revolution or change; it must also be built," he added.

At this time, Mirza Fakhrul highlighted the various contributions and initiatives of Shaheeed President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in youth development.

Reaffirming the current government's commitment to the development of the country and its youth, the President said, "Young people must be brought to the forefront and given the leading role in every aspect of nation-building."

He said the youth must be involved in all spheres of the country's development and progress and there should be no obstacles to the country's development and to changing the fortunes of its youth.

Praising young and women entrepreneurs, the President said, "I am very delighted and encouraged to see young people doing such commendable work. They are undertaking various initiatives with very little capital, producing their own products and achieving success not only in the domestic market but also in exports."

He said the success of women entrepreneurs, in particular, had impressed him.

"A woman entrepreneur is earning a substantial income by producing local food items and sweets. Besides supporting her family, she had also taken initiatives to export her products abroad," he added, describing such success as encouraging for youth.

At the same time, he called upon the youth to become self-reliant and self-sufficient while generating employment scopes for others. He called for expanding the activities of the Department of Youth Development to provide greater support to entrepreneurs.

"The Youth Development department conducts various training programmes, along with arrangements for post-training loan assistance. These initiatives need to be made more effective and expanded," he said.

"If training, loans and other forms of assistance can be delivered to suitable entrepreneurs through proper procedures, it will be possible to reduce unemployment and build a self-reliant society," he added.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of technical education alongside general education to develop the country's youth into skilled human resources for the development of the country.

Calling upon young people to stay away from drug addiction, the President said, "Drug addiction is currently one of the major problems facing the country's youth. The spread of drug addiction among young people has reached an alarming level. Effective measures must be taken to stop this menace through awareness-raising, campaigns and effective programmes."

The President also called upon the youth to come forward against violence against women, dowry, various forms of discrimination and all kinds of social irregularities.

"Youth must build a movement against these social injustices take initiatives to establish organisations and awareness-raising programmes everywhere to prevent negative activities," he said.

Emphasizing the importance of biogas production in the country, he said, "Although the concept of biogas projects is old, it remains highly effective and useful. The current crisis in fuel and electricity could be addressed to a considerable extent by increasing the use of biogas."

Such environment-friendly energy projects should be expanded across the country, he said.

Congratulating the recipients of the National Youth Awards, the President said their achievements and successes would serve as exemplary models for other young men and women across the country.

At the end of his speech, the President announced the inauguration of the weeklong job fair organized on the occasion of National Youth Day-2026 and more than 1200 biogas plants established across the country.

Earlier, he handed over awards to the recipients of youth awards at the national and divisional levels.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Md. Aminul Haque chaired the event while Director General of the Department of Youth Development Md. Motaher Hossain delivered the welcome address.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Youth and Sports Md Abul Khair Bhuiyan and Acting Secretary of the Ministry Md. Mahfuzul Alam Khan addressed the programme as special guests.

A video documentary on youth activities was screened at the event. Earlier, upon arriving at the venue, the President visited various stalls and the youth fair, set up on the occasion.