Chief Adviser Yunus urges revitalisation of SAARC for regional benefits
Yunus invited young people from SAARC countries to participate in a youth festival in Bangladesh in January
Professor Muhammad Yunus has called for renewed efforts to revitalise the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to ensure the collective benefit of the region's people.
"SAARC is a forgotten word. If you can revitalise it, this will give dividends to the people of the whole region," Yunus said while SAARC Secretary General Golam Sarwar called on him at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka today (2 December), according to a statement from the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.
During the meeting, Secretary General Sarwar thanked Professor Yunus for his consistent support for SAARC and expressed optimism about the chief adviser's recent appeal to South Asian leaders to rejuvenate the multilateral body.
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Sarwar briefed the chief adviser on SAARC's current activities, including initiatives on climate change, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), regional integration, and customs cooperation.
"In the absence of high-level meetings, the functional initiatives are not getting adequate strength and clarity," he said.
The two also discussed the importance of convening meetings at various levels, including those of foreign secretaries, foreign ministers, and sectoral ministers, as well as holding summits for better coordination and progress.
"We have partnerships with a lot of organisations. We are trying to explore those," the secretary-general added.
Professor Yunus urged Sarwar to focus on multilateral projects, such as facilitating the export of Nepal's hydroelectric power to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan.
Yunus invited young people from SAARC countries to participate in a youth festival in Bangladesh in January.
"This will be good because this 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 marks the 40th Charter Day of SAARC.
The secretary-general sought continued support from the Bangladesh government to reinvigorate the organisation and advance its charter objectives.
