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Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), in collaboration with Bonik Barta, organised Gunijon Sambardhana 2025 on December 23 at the Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, honouring three distinguished individuals for their outstanding contributions to Bangladesh’s economic development, policy discourse, academia, and public health. This marked the eighth edition of the Gunijon Songbordhona jointly organised by the two institutions.
This year, three eminent personalities of the country are being honoured: Syed Manzur Elahi (posthumously), Dr. Firdausi Qadri, and Professor Dr. Amirul Islam Chowdhury.
Syed Manzur Elahi was recognised posthumously for his transformative role in shaping Bangladesh’s leather and footwear industry and for building one of the country’s most influential export-oriented business groups. Beyond entrepreneurship, he served twice as an adviser to caretaker governments and played significant roles in key financial, academic, and policy institutions, leaving a lasting legacy in national industry and governance.
Professor Dr. Amirul Islam Chowdhury, an eminent economist, educator, and a longtime faculty member of Jahangirnagar University, was honoured for his extensive contributions to economic research and teaching. His scholarly work in urban economics, public finance, and land policy has shaped academic discourse and policy thinking in Bangladesh for decades.
Dr. Firdausi Qadri was recognised for her groundbreaking work in infectious-disease research and public health. As the founder of ideSHi, whose research transformed vaccine development and public health in Bangladesh. Her work on cholera and typhoid vaccines reached vulnerable communities nationwide.
Gunijon Sambardhana 2025 began with a welcome address by the Director General of BIDS Professor Dr. A. K. Enamul Haque. Bonik Barta Editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the programme.
Paying tribute to the three distinguished individuals, reflections and reminiscences are being shared by Finance and Science and Technology Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed; Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Dr. Anisuzzaman Chowdhury; former commerce minister and BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury; President of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Mahbubur Rahman; former adviser to the caretaker government and Executive Chairman of PPRC Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman; and Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr. Fahmida Khatun, among other eminent personalities.
