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Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said he will take measures to expedite Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative for greater socioeconomic development in the South Asia region.
“I’ll try to collaborate with all relevant ministries for expediting BBIN initiative which will basically help Bangladesh advance on the highway of development,” the minister said.
AK Abdul Momen came up with the statement while addressing a seminar on the issue in Dhaka on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The Bangladesh Study Trust (BST) organised the seminar titled, ‘Bangladesh-India-Nepal-Bhutan – Regional Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges’ at Jatiya Press Club.
The foreign minister stressed regional cooperation in watershed management, saying that water is one of the major resources of Bangladesh.
He suggested further cooperation on education and tourism between the BBIN countries.
The BBIN initiative is a sub-regional grouping to promote connective among the four neighbours in South Asia.
The failure of SAARC as a regional grouping has prompted those countries to form this sub-regional group.
Motor vehicle movement between Bangladesh, India and Nepal has already started.
Bangladesh has already established power grid connectivity with India and there are huge sources of renewable energy in Nepal and Bhutan.
Former ambassadors Abdul Hannan and AKM Atiqur Rahman, former president of BGMEA Atiqul Islam, and Sompritee Bangladesh convenor Pijush Banadhyapathay spoke at the seminar chaired by BST General Secretary Mamun Al Mahtab Swapnil.
Speakers at the event said it is due to Pakistan that SAARC could not deliver in its more than 30 years of existence.