Dhaka on Saturday at a ministerial panel during a diplomacy forum in Türkiye said that revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was one of its major foreign policy objectives.
‘Reviving SAARC is a major foreign policy objective of prime minister Tarique Rahman,’ Khalilur Rahman was quoted to have told the panel in a statement issued by the foreign ministry in Dhaka.
The ministerial panel on the second day of the three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum recalled the contribution of Bangladesh Nationalist Party founder and late president Ziaur Rahman’s initiative to establish the SAARC.
Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur, Pakistan deputy prime minister and also foreign minister Ishaq Dar and Afghan transport minister Azizi participated in the panel.
The panel agreed that the South Asian region held unlimited possibilities for cooperation and that dialogue and diplomacy were the only way to overcome the barriers to cooperation among the nations in the region.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka in 1985, has been turned into a non-functional organisation as the top political authorities in all eight member countries have failed to meet since the indefinite postponement of a summit in 2016 amid India-Pakistan rivalry.
On Friday, Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman in a bilateral meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the diplomacy forum discussed ways to further advance the Dhaka-Islamabad relations.
‘FM Khalilur Rahman held a bilateral meeting with Pakistan’s DPM and FM Ishaq Dar at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on 17 April 2026…The two ministers also discussed ways to further advance bilateral relations,’ said a separate foreign ministry statement issued in Dhaka.
They discussed the latest developments with regard to talks to resolve the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region, it mentioned.
Khalilur thanked Pakistan for its commendable diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to a negotiated end.
The prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Humaiun Kobir was also present at the meeting.
Khalilur Rahman on Thursday morning left the country for Türkiye to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
After attending the three-day forum, the foreign minister is scheduled for flying to Brussels of Belgium to attend the signing event on the ‘Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation’ between Bangladesh and the European Union, according to a foreign ministry press release issued in Dhaka.
The 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, ADF2026 in short, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye under the auspices of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will conclude on April 19 at Antalya of Türkiye, according to a document from the forum made available on its website.
In the face of geopolitical tensions, shifting balances of power, rising trade barriers and mounting pressure on multilateralism, the current global landscape was marked by increasing unpredictability, it mentioned.
This year’s theme ‘Mapping tomorrow, managing uncertainties’ emphasises the importance of anticipating and addressing emerging issues having the potential to shape a better future.
The theme underscores the need to stay ahead of future development by identifying risks.
On his way back home, Khalilur is expected to make a stopover in Ethiopia capital Addis Ababa before returning to Bangladesh on April 24.
