Bangladesh signals push to revitalize SAARC

ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh has reaffirmed its commitment to revitalizing the South Asian regional cooperation process, indicating renewed momentum for the long-stalled South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman conveyed Dhaka’s “unwavering support” during a meeting on Feb. 24, with SAARC Secretary-General Md. Golam Sarwar. He expressed readiness to take proactive steps to revitalize the bloc.

Rahman reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to the SAARC Charter principles, including sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, non-interference and mutual benefit.

He recalled that the idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was first proposed in the early 1980s by then president Ziaur Rahman.

A founding member, Bangladesh hosted SAARC’s first summit in 1985, and later in 1993 and 2005.

The renewed push comes amid calls to restore regular summit-level engagement and revive SAARC’s institutional mechanisms.