State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Monday said the "Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Book Corner" in Brunei will serve as an effective conduit to bring the academics and students of Brunei and Bangladesh to collaborate and learn from each other. 

"Education is a priority of our government; we want to collaborate with the universities of Brunei more," he said, noting that the education sector worldwide suffered a huge blow from the pandemic.

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The State Minister thanked the University Technology Brunei (UTB) for opening the Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Corner at its premises. 

"I hope this corner to grow up further in the coming years through our joint efforts opening many more avenues of shared cooperation especially in the field of higher education," he said during the launching of Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Corner at the University Technology Brunei (UTB).

Bangladesh High Commissioner Nahida Rahman Shumona, Vice Chancellor of University Technology Brunei (UTB) and faculty members joined the function held virtually. 

Shahriar said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned a Shonar Bangla – Golden Bengal – as a land of peace and prosperity. 

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He said Bangladesh hosts 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals known as Rohingyas.

"We have done our best to help them, ours is a country with a huge population of 165 million, our Prime Minister opened our land for them, but we have constraints and we cannot host them forever," said the State Minister. 

He said these people need to return to their homeland with a sense of safety and dignity. 

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"We are grateful for His Majesty’s contribution for these people, and we hope as ASEAN Chair Brunei will come forward to work on a sustainable solution for the return of the Rohingyas," said the State Minister.