Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus met Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif in New York. He urged him to bring SAARC back to its place of action and sought his help in reconvening it.
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) there, as the two leaders called for the revival of SAARC for regional cooperation in South Asia.
SAARC—a regional grouping comprising India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal—has been ineffective since 2016.
The last SAARC biennial summit was in 2014 in Nepal’s Kathmandu.
Now, the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan, both having anti-India sentiments running high, want the revival of SAARC.
Why Bangladesh & Pakistan want SAARC revival
Back in August, days after getting the charge to lead Bangladesh’s interim government, Yunus called for the revival of SAARC to boost economic cooperation in the neighborhood. Back then, he discussed with Pakistani high commissioner Syed Ahmed Maroof.
On Wednesday (September 25), Yunus met Sharif and said reviving SAARC could be an excellent way to start and sought support from Pakistan.
Meanwhile, he told the media that Pakistan would support the initiative and proposed that they proceed step-by-step to revive the regional platform.
Had the most cordial meeting on the sidelines of #UNGA79 with Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, today.
