At UNGA, Bangladesh interim chief Muhammad Yunus calls for revival of SAARC

Chief Adviser of the interim Government of the People`s Republic of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus speaks at the 80th session of The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. Pic/AFP

Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Friday called for the revival of the SAARC grouping, stressing regional cooperation based on mutual respect, transparency, and shared prosperity. In his address to the General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Yunus said that there is no alternative to regional cooperation among neighbours except for shared development.

He said that SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) achieved notable progress in its early years and laid a strong foundation for regional cooperation. Yunus added that despite political deadlock, the grouping's institutional structure remains intact, Bangladesh's state-run BSS news agency reported. The South Asian regional grouping comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014.

"We believe SAARC still holds the potential to deliver welfare to the hundreds of millions in our region, just as ASEAN has done on its own," Yunus was quoted as saying. Bangladesh is advancing regional connectivity and trade through initiatives such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal initiative, the Asian Highway, and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation, he said.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever