The suggestion came up with the inaugural session of a four-day long dialogue organized by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) titled- “Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue 2021: Post-COVID-19 Challenges in the Bay of Bengal Region.”

Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen, MP inaugurated the session while Executive Director of SANEM, Dr Selim Raihan moderated it.

Also read: SANEM survey: Population below poverty line doubled, extreme poor trebled in 2020

Dr Momen said Bangladesh is strongly committed to build for regional cooperation. It’s also Bangladesh’s foreign policy. “We are celebrating the birth centenary of the father of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangladesh is strongly committed to develop cooperation, facilitate trade and investment,” he also said.

The minister said the coronavirus pandemic is tackled thanks to the initiatives based on small, medium and long times. “We provided foods, cash and incentives among the poor during the pandemic. Our government also provided stimulus packages for different sectors to tackle the impact posed by the virus,” he also said.

Also read: Almost three quarters of firms yet to receive stimulus: SANEM

Dr Momen added that they need to organize such dialogue to develop the region's cooperation. “ We strongly believe that the upcoming BIMSTEC programme will be successful. Action programmes in relevant fields can be taken there to face the challenges posed by the pandemic,” he also said.

Director General of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India Professor Sachin Chaturvedi said a joint strategy is needed among the communities in Bay of Bengal for sustainable development of the economy.

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“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can play a significant role for sustainable development as well. Agriculture sector can contribute here,” he also said.

Secretary General of BIMSTEC Tenzin Lekphell; Joint Secretary and Head, Regional Organization Division ofNepal Foreign Affairs Ministry Tirtha Raj Wagle; Co-founder of Centre for Research on Bhutanese Society (CRBS) of Bhutan Achyut Bhandari   among others also took part in the webinar.