 Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, scientists and practitioners, dear participants, ladies and gentlemen, Assalamu alaikum and very good morning to you all. It is my great pleasure to be here with you at the inaugural session of the 10th International Conference on Community-Pace Reduction to Climate Change, being held in Dhaka. I am pleased to know that, besides participants from Bangladesh, over 250 international experts, scientists and development partners and practitioners from more than 40 countries from all over the world are attending this conference. On behalf of the government and the people of Bangladesh, I welcome you all. Ladies and gentlemen, climate change, as you all know, is the greatest challenge facing mankind and the global. The climate is being destabilised due to uncontrolled human activities since the advent of the industrial revolution. Unless the present trend of degradation of climate and environment is reversed, our next generations will have to face terrible consequences. For the sake of sustainability of environment and development, we need to act now without delay individually, locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. Ladies and gentlemen, Bangladesh, a low-lying country with about 160 million people, is identified as one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse effects of climate change. Over coastal areas, having a population of over 50 million face hybrids from sea level rise, salinity intrusion, and extreme events like cyclones, floods, tidal surges, and river erosion. The sustainability of old traditional life-use systems and the economy is already endangered. Ladies and gentlemen, this conference marks the importance of the fact of the poorest communities will be the worst sufferers from adverse effects of climate change. This is especially so in the least developed countries as a leading member of LDC's group, Bangladesh has been playing an important role in the climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Dear participants, I am very happy that my government, through the Ministry of Environment and Forests, has been providing support to this excellent initiative by Bangladesh Center for Adverse Studies and International Institute for Environment and Development, UK, to bring together so many participants representing governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, and media to address the critical issue of how to assist the poorest and most vulnerable communities through community-based adaptation. Ladies and gentlemen, despite our vulnerability to climate change, Bangladesh is a beautiful land for its mighty flowing rivers, the largest unbroken sandy sea beach of the world. In Cox's Bazaar, rich biodiversity, including the Sundarbansh, the largest mangrove forest in the world, beside our very friendly and hospitable people. I hope you find your participation in the conference and you will stay in Bangladesh enjoyable and memorable. I wish you have a successful conference. I look forward to the outcome of the conference. I assure you of the continued support of the government. Finally, I would like to thank the organizers and the all participants. Especially, I thank Mr. Ati and others for inviting me. Now I am pleased to declare the 10th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change Open. Thank you all.