Bangladesh reaffirms commitment to revitalise SAARC process

Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman has reaffirmed Bangladesh's unwavering support and commitment to revitalise the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) process. 

He made the remarks when SAARC Secretary General Md Golam Sarwar paid a visit to his office in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The minister expressed Bangladesh's readiness to take proactive initiatives to strengthen and revitalise SAARC.

Khalilur reiterated Bangladesh’s conviction in abiding commitment to the principles enshrined in the SAARC Charter, including sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual benefit of the people of member states. 

The foreign minister recalled that the idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was first proposed by Bangladesh in the early 1980s by the late president Ziaur Rahman to promote people's welfare, improve quality of life, and strengthen collective self-reliance in the region. 

Being one of the founder members and the host of the very first summit of SAARC in December 1985 and twice in 1993 and 2005, Bangladesh acknowledges the valuable role of SAARC to foster common regional values and promote cooperation in key areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, poverty alleviation, power, climate change, food security, education, public health, culture, people-to-people contacts and so forth, he said.