Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has said that Bangladesh acts as a “bridge” between South Asia and South East Asia due to its close ties with all neighbour.
He said Bangladesh had attached “great importance” to its relations with the ASEAN countries.
Member states — Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam –of this regional grouping cover about 9 percent of the world’s population.
It is based on regional integration through political security, socio-cultural integration, and economic integration.
Currently as a single entity, ASEAN is the 8th largest economy of the world and is still growing which, the foreign minister says, “shows the inherent strength it possesses”.
Ali said Bangladesh had given much priority to its relations with all of those countries and already established its resident missions in almost all the ASEAN countries.
“Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always emphasises on the importance of a strong relationship with the ASEAN countries,” he said.
This was reflected through her several visits to the ASEAN countries in the recent past including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Lao PDR, he said.
The ASEAN Dhaka Committee (ADC) had organised the flag raising ceremony.
The Committee consists of eight member countries, which have missions in Dhaka, was officially established on Sep 12 in 2013 in a rare gesture even as Bangladesh is not a “dialogue partner”.
This means ASEAN grouping gives importance to Bangladesh, according to the foreign ministry.
Source: BDNews24.
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