He made the remarks while speaking at the 35th SAARC Charter Day programme organised by SAARC Agriculture Centre at Krishibid Institution in the capital.
Razzaque urged all SAARC countries to work in a concerted way to ensure safe and nutritious food for all, according to a handout from Agriculture Ministry.
He said Bangladesh has been inventing climate resilient crops while other SAARC countries are also doing well in agriculture.
Razzaque said regional, mutual and multilateral cooperation have no alternative for overall development of the region, and dealing with the crisis due to climate change.
Mentioning the need of more development in agriculture sector, Razzaque said there is a need of political cooperation and compromise for proper economic cooperation.
He said establishing the Agriculture Information Centre for food security management and forming the commission for poverty alleviation are important successes of SAARC.
Razzaque also said that timely and correct steps, incentive distribution, developed technology and the joint efforts of farmers and concerned have made Bangladesh self-reliant in food.
“Despite achieving food sufficiency, we’re yet far behind from ensuring safe food and nutrition security,” said Razzaque, adding that we can only achieve this by providing nutritious food.
Dr SM Bakhtiar, director, SAARC Agritulture Centre, Md Nasiruzzaman, agriculture secretary, Nahida Rahman Sumona, director general (regional organizations) Foreign Ministry, Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, director general, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (IECAR) among others were present with Agriculture Research Institute Director General Dr Kabir Ikramul Haque in the chair.