Revitalising SAARC will benefit whole region: Yunus

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday urged the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Secretariat to work more intensely to make the regional body functional for the common benefit of the South Asian countries.

“SAARC is a forgotten word. If you can revitalise it, this will give dividends to the people of the whole region,” said the chief adviser when SAARC Secretary General Golam Sarwar called on him at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

Secretary General Sarwar thanked Prof Yunus for being a big supporter of SAARC and said that they were encouraged by his recent call to South Asian leaders for the revival of the multilateral body.

He briefed the Bangladesh Chief Adviser about the ongoing activities of SAARC at the working level, including the programming committee, governing bodies of regional centres and specialised bodies, events on climate change, SDGs, regional integration, and customs cooperation, among others.

He said that in the absence of high-level meetings, the functional initiatives were not getting adequate strength and clarity.

Yunus and the SAARC Secretary General discussed the need for meetings of foreign secretaries, foreign ministers, and other sectoral ministers, and even the summit of the leaders for better functioning of the body.

“We have partnerships with a lot of organisations. We are trying to explore those,” said Secretary General Sarwar.

Yunus asked Secretary General Sarwar to work on multilateral issues such as the export of hydroelectric power from Nepal to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan.

Professor Yunus invited young people from SAARC countries to join the youth festival in Bangladesh in January.

“This will be good because it focuses on youth. The whole SAARC idea is to bring people together. This could be one way of opening the door,” he said.

This year, SAARC celebrates its 40th Charter Day. The SAARC secretary general requested continued support and guidance from Bangladesh to reinvigorate the SAARC process in realising the charter objectives of the association.

Secretary General Golam Sarwar also paid a visit to Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The SAARC secretary general was accompanied by Hari Prasad Odari, director (Poverty Alleviation & Information) at the SAARC Secretariat. Abdul Motaleb Sarker, director general (SAARC & BIMSTEC) was also present during the meeting.

He briefed the adviser on the various ongoing activities of SAARC and acknowledged that Bangladesh plays a pivotal role in advancing the SAARC process.

The foreign adviser told the secretary general that Bangladesh stands ready to play a proactive role to revitalise the organisation.

He advised the secretary general to work closely with the other SAARC member states to revitalise SAARC.

He emphasised the importance of holding a foreign secretary level meeting to advance its activities at the functional level.

He assured the secretary general of Bangladesh’s full support in facilitating the SAARC Secretariat to fulfil its mandate and strengthening the SAARC process.