The visiting Nisha Desai Biswal, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, today stressed for strengthening the democratic processes to sustain socio-economic development in the region. Biswal said this while meeting with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence at 6:12pm. During their 40-minute conversation, bilateral issues were discussed, BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting. Asked present US stance on the January 5 parlia...

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday called for implementing the free trade agreement (FTA) that the Saarc nations signed nearly a decade ago. In her address to the 18^th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit here, Hasina underlined the need to implement the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta), Xinhua reported. The accord was signed by the Saarc member states Jan 6, 2004, at the 12^th Saarc Summit in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. Safta required the developing countries in South Asia—India, Pakist...

Beijing has renewed its enthusiasm for an economic corridor linking India, Bangladesh and Burma with southwest China. It would “spark a major expansion in infrastructure development which will revitalize the economies involved,” the official China Daily newspaper reported. “Linking India’s northeast, Bangladesh, [Burma] and the Chinese province of Yunnan, the corridor will lead to major socioeconomic development and will provide a massive boost to trade in South Asia,” the daily said. The corridor idea was discussed in private talks with P...

Dhaka will place special emphasis on cooperation in areas like connectivity improvement, poverty alleviation and antiterrorism during the upcoming eighteenth summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 26-27, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said yesterday at the ministry. The other areas of cooperation that Bangladesh will highlight are food security, youth development, climate change, science and technology, education, SAFTA and service sectors and women empowerment, he told a press conference organised to brief journalists about Bangladesh’s participation in the summit. “We will discuss progress and prospect, but the special emphasis will be given on the issues mentioned,” he added.