Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman has said that reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is one of the government’s top foreign policy priorities.
He made the remarks on Saturday during a ministerial panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Turkish city of Antalya. According to the foreign minister, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is giving special importance to restoring SAARC as an active regional platform and sees it as a key strategic objective of Bangladesh’s foreign policy.
During the discussion, speakers also recalled the historic role of late President Ziaur Rahman in the founding of SAARC, describing his contribution to regional cooperation in South Asia as significant and far-reaching.
The panel also included Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Afghanistan’s Transport Minister Azizi. Participants agreed that South Asia holds enormous potential for regional cooperation, but said that existing barriers among countries must be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy.
The discussion sent a renewed message in support of restoring SAARC as an effective platform for regional engagement at a time when South Asian cooperation remains limited.