Dhaka to work with island states

Bangladesh is committed to work together with small, developing island states, the junior foreign minister has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 2 Sept 2014, 03:02 PM
Updated : 2 Sept 2014, 03:02 PM

M Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the endeavour was mainly for the sake of “a blue, pro-people, and pro-planet, and sustainable world for all”.

He was addressing the ‘3rd International Conference on Small Island Developing States’ at Apia, Samoa.

Bangladesh is pursuing a blue economy to extract marine resources, particularly after the settlement of a maritime boundary dispute with neighbouring India and Myanmar.

Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali sought on Tuesday at the closing of the first-ever international workshop in Dhaka on blue economy - “Bay of Bengal partnership” - sustainable growth leveraging the sea.

The four-day Samoa conference, which began on Monday, was themed on “sustainable development of small Island developing states through genuine and durable partnerships”.

A large number of high-level delegations from over 100 countries, including heads of governments, are attending the conference.

Alam is representing Bangladesh at the meet. Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN AK Abdul Momen is accompanying him.

The Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi inaugurated the opening session where messages from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the General Assembly John Ashe were read.

The foreign ministry said the state minister drew attention to climate change impacts on island nations.

He urged all countries to respond to the two-degree celcius stabilization target.

He also called for a broad-based support to all climate vulnerable countries, particularly LDCs, “through predictable finance and development of and access to adaptive, life-saving technology”.

The state minister held a series of bilateral meetings with head of delegation of different countries in the sidelines, the foreign ministry said.

Those include the Prime Ministers of Timor-Leste, Tonga; Deputy Prime Minister of Solomon Islands; Foreign Ministers of Tuvalu, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Grenada, Vanuatu, Saint Lucia, Nauru, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Energy Minister of Comoros and Environment Minister of Palau.

During these meetings, he spoke of his government’s achievements in different fields, particularly in poverty eradication, socio-economic development, women’s empowerment, girls' education and information and communication technology.

He also sought their support for Bangladesh's candidacy to the Human Rights Council, International Telecommunication Union, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and Inter- Parliamentary Union.