Political activity should be centred on the national parliament rather than the streets, President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said. A movement had driven out the fascist forces and established a democratic government in the country, he said, and that achievement must now be used to carry the democratic process forward.
The president was speaking on Sunday at an event marking National Youth Day 2026 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital.
A country’s progress cannot be secured through political change alone, he said. Alongside change, the country also has to be rebuilt, and young people must lead that work from the front.
A large share of the country’s population is young, the president said. If this large population can be turned into a demographic dividend, major gains in national development are possible. For that, he said, young people must be made skilled and ready for work, and drawn into production and economic activity.
After graduating from the list of least developed countries, he said, Bangladesh will need to build the capacity to stay competitive internationally. That means training a skilled workforce and expanding technical education. Sending trained and skilled workers abroad would strengthen Bangladesh’s position in the international labour market, he said.
Stressing entrepreneurship, the president told young people to create their own jobs rather than chase employment. Entrepreneurs should be supported with training, loans and the capital they need, he said, and the Department of Youth Development’s training and loan programmes need to be widened.
He praised the success of young and women entrepreneurs at the event. Many young men and women are making their own products with little capital and succeeding at home and abroad, the president said, and he called for their efforts to be encouraged further.
Calling the spread of drug addiction among young people worrying, Mirza Fakhrul said that some young people turn to drugs out of unemployment and frustration. Awareness must be raised and effective programmes taken up to stop this trend, he said.
He also called on young people to organise against violence against women, dowry and social discrimination, and spoke of building local organisations to run awareness campaigns against irregularities and harmful practices in society.
The president stressed greater use of biogas to tackle the energy crisis. If production and use of this environmentally friendly fuel can be increased across the country, he said, part of the demand for electricity and energy could be met.
He also spoke of the contributions of former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia to youth development.
The president handed crests and certificates to winners of the national and divisional youth awards. He then declared open a week-long job fair marking National Youth Day and the biogas plants set up across the country.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report