The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh has offered to host a SAARC Ministerial Conference on Climate Change in Bangladesh.

The offer was made, in line with the informal consultations during the last UN General Assembly session in New York, by Adviser for Foreign Affairs Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury while addressing the formal session of the meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers in the Indian capital yesterday.

According to official sources, the Adviser said, "Dhaka is ready to host a SAARC ministerial conference on climate change."

Stressing the importance of climate change issue, he urged the SAARC member countries to take a stronger stance on the issue, as the region with long and low-lying coast lines was likely to be the worst affected of this natural phenomenon.

Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury supported the nomination of a SAARC village in each member state where the best practices of SAARC would be implemented.

He also proposed that each year one day might be designated as 'SAARC Day of Good Governance'.

Emphasising the need for intensifying regional cooperation to meet the aspirations of peoples of SAARC region, the Foreign Adviser said Bangladesh sees the region as a zone of peace and development.

He thanked all the SAARC members for expressing their solidarity with the government and people of Bangladesh in the wake of the recent disastrous cyclone Sidr in the country's southern districts.

"Bangladesh will recover and the tragedy will be behind us; but as we move along the path of development, we will always warmly recall the support you all gave us at the time of our need," he said.

Before the commencement of the meeting, a two-minute silence was observed in memory of those who lost their lives in the Cyclone Sidr.

Officials said it was decided in an informal meeting earlier that Sri Lanka would host the next SAARC Summit in 2008, which would be followed by the Maldives in 2009.

The SAARC ministers are expected to call on Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is also current Chairman of SAARC, today.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Adviser received Pakistani Foreign Minister Inam Ul Haque at his hotel suite in New Delhi on Thursday and discussed bilateral issues.