Kathmandu, December 5, 2017: The Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) and Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Nepal jointly hosted the Round Table Meeting on ‘Prospects and Challenges on Nepal-India-Bangladesh Trilateral Co-operation’ to discuss the prospects and challenges of trilateral co-operation.
Dr. Gowher Rizvi, International Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, delivered the keynote speech where he stressed on promoting commonalities for trilateral and regional cooperation. He reflected the need of ‘high-level well-prepared dialogue’ between Bangladesh-India-Nepal.
“In order to take the optimum advantage of our proximity, connectivity should be the central part of our effort. Issues like climate change and energy crisis can be tackled effectively if we work in common understanding,” said Dr. Rizvi.
He also talked about the need of exploring Mongla and Chittagong port, as Bangladesh has already provided Nepal to use those port facilities.
In a special remark, Chandra Kumar Ghimire, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Nepal, stressed that connectivity should be prioritized to promote cross-border economic activities. Ghimire emphasized, “Words should not be limited in the document but we should act together for the concrete action.”
During the meeting, representative from different diplomatic missions, policy experts, academicians,
business persons, government authorities and media actively participated in the discussion.
By: Prashant Bhandari
