Islamabad, November 22, 2022 (PPI-OT):High Commissioner for Pakistan to Bangladesh, Mr. Imran Ahmed Siddiqui hosted a dinner in honour of Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and Ambassador Asif Durrani, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the U.A.E., says a press release received here today from Dhaka.
Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry and Ambassador Durrani are currently visiting Dhaka in connection with the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2022, being organized by the Center for Governance Studies on 21-23 Nov.
The dinner was attended, among others, by former government officials, ambassadors, and journalists, members of academia and representatives of think tanks based in Dhaka. Muhammad Abdul Manan, Minister for Planning was also present as special guest. In their remarks, the visiting delegates outlined key global trends and developments as well as the challenges and opportunities for developing countries.
Speaking on Pakistan- Bangladesh relations in the changing world order, Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry said that people of the two countries share common bonds of history and culture and mutual feelings of goodwill among the people. He urged for capitalising on these bonds of affinity for the benefit of two countries and said that more exchange of scholars and thought leaders would help improve bilateral relations.
On regional connectivity, he emphasised the need for greater collaboration among developing states to effectively address challenges such as climate change impact, environmental degradation and endemic poverty.
The South Asian region will collectively develop if collaborative efforts are undertaken by the countries of the region, Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry emphasised. Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry further said that while south Asian countries have not been successful in utilising the SAARC platform, there is a need for them to rewrite the agenda of regional collaboration wherein Climate Change should be given top priority as it has real and serious implications for all the countries of the region.
Ambassador Asif Durrani in his remarks touched upon regional approaches and reactivation of regional forums like SAARC and NAM and said that SAARC is the least integrated region in the world whereas regional blocks in other parts of the world are flourishing. He urged that enhanced collaboration among developing countries would contribute towards the efforts to achieve lasting prosperity and regional peace.
The delegates appreciated the progress and development of Bangladesh and expressed good wishes for the prosperity of the people of Bangladesh. During the interactive session, most speakers stressed on the need for enhanced regional cooperation to tackle common challenges.
In his concluding remarks, the High Commissioner thanked the participants for attending the event and expressed hope that the interaction between think tanks and thought leadership of the two counties will continue in future aimed at exploring avenues of policy convergence and cooperation to the mutual benefit of the two countries.
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