Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Tuesday said that Matarbari deep seaport is a gateway that will facilitate connectivity with landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan through Bangladesh.

“Matarbari deep seaport is the right policy decision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” she said.

She said this at a workshop titled 'Bangladesh's First Deep Seaport: Matarbari Opening a New Scene in the Bay of Bengal' organised by the Ocean Policy Research Unit of Japan's Sasakawa Peace Foundation at Parliament’s LD Hall.

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The Speaker said that through Matarbari deep seaport, the socio-economic development of the neighbouring countries will take place while Bangladesh will also benefit.

“This seaport will play a crucial role in facilitating the communication with different states through waterways and will also increase commercial competition,” she said.

She said that this seaport will highlight the importance of the Bay of Bengal among various South Asian countries.

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Bangladesh Enterprise Institute President Humayun Kabir moderated the workshop.

Ocean Policy Peace Foundation Research Fellow Imadul Islam and researcher Kamran Reza Chowdhury presented the keynote of the workshop.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Masud Bin Momen, Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rear Admiral (Retd) Md Khurshed Alam, president of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan Hide Sakaguchi, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Kiminori IWAMA and JICA Bangladesh Chief Representative Tamohide Ichiguchi also addressed the workshop.