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Acting Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Barrister Kayser Kamal and Nepal’s Ambassador to Bangladesh Ghanshyam Bhandari on Tuesday underscored the need to revitalise the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), expressing optimism that stronger regional cooperation could restore the effectiveness of the eight-nation bloc.
The issue came up during a courtesy call by the Nepalese envoy on the Acting Speaker at his office in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, according to a Parliament Secretariat press release.
During the meeting, Kayser Kamal recalled that the vision of the late President Ziaur Rahman, who first proposed the establishment of SAARC, remains relevant for promoting peace, prosperity and collective development across South Asia.
He said the opportunity still exists to realise that vision through renewed cooperation among member states and urged Nepal to play an active role in reviving the regional organisation.
Ambassador Bhandari agreed, expressing Nepal’s willingness to work with Bangladesh and other member countries to help make SAARC more effective and relevant in addressing common regional challenges.
The Acting Speaker also thanked Dol Prasad Aryal, Speaker of Nepal’s Federal House of Representatives, for establishing a Bangladesh-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Nepalese Parliament.
He expressed hope that a corresponding Bangladesh-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group would soon be formed in the Jatiya Sangsad to deepen parliamentary engagement and strengthen bilateral ties.
Kayser Kamal said such a platform would promote parliamentary diplomacy through closer people-to-people contacts, reciprocal parliamentary visits, exchanges of legislative experience and good governance practices, and greater cooperation on issues of mutual interest in regional and international forums.
He added that the friendship group could also facilitate joint efforts to address shared challenges, including climate change, sustainable development and regional connectivity.
Highlighting the growing bilateral relationship, the Acting Speaker referred to Bangladesh’s import of electricity from Nepal and said the two countries have significant scope to expand cooperation in hydropower and energy, water resources, trade, education, culture, youth exchanges, tourism and transport connectivity.
Ambassador Bhandari praised Bangladesh’s progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Bangladesh’s democratic government.
He also commended Bangladesh’s continued advancement across key socio-economic indicators and expressed confidence that the country would successfully graduate from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category within the scheduled timeframe.
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Nepal Pratik Karki, Parliament Secretariat Secretary Barrister Md Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan, and other senior officials attended the meeting.
