<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The government has decided to update Population Policy 2012 aiming to transform the population into human resources through skill development and advancement, and emphasising vocational education, said the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Very recently we have decided to update the Population Policy 2012. In the new policy, the Demographic Dividend which will continue from 2041 to 2061 is being emphasised to transform the population into human resource through skill development and advancement, and emphasising vocational education,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prime minister said his while inaugurating a two-day event titled “ICPD30 Global Dialogue on Demographic Diversity and Sustainable Development” that creates a platform to discuss the challenges and explore the opportunities of the world’s shifting demographics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The programme at InterContinental Hotel has been organised by Bangladesh, Bulgaria and Japan, together with UNFPA.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hasina said that as a result of various initiatives taken by the government, the average life expectancy of the people in the country has increased to 72.3 years in 2023.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>