State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has laid emphasis on an action plan that will map out strategies on how the power of D-8 youth will be harnessed in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and D-8 economic endeavors.

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"The aim of this first ever D-8 Youth Summit 2021 has been to ignite young minds and rekindle their aspirations to pursue the goal for a better world, where the benefits of development reach all," he said.

The State Minister made the remarks while addressing the "1st D-8 Youth Summit 2021" held virtually on Monday.

He said the opportunity and privilege of hosting the ‘1st D-8 Youth Summit 2021’ now, although in virtual platform, is of unique significance to Bangladesh.

"This not only allows us to demonstrate our commitments to the principles of the D-8 Charter, but also to strengthen our relations with our friends form the D-8 Member states," the State Minister said.

Shahriar praised the engaging participation of the delegates from across the D-8 and the contribution of the D-8 Secretariat.

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He congratulated the Minister of State for Youth & Sports for successfully organizing this event, which was not easy in this time of pandemic.

"We hope that the D-8 Youth Summit will continue from now onwards during the upcoming D-8 Summits," said the State Minister wishing the youth of the D-8 countries a bright future.

The Youth Summit highlighted the importance of digital and creative economies for the developmental aspirations of the Member States and identify youth’s role in these sectors.

It laid emphasis on brining national youth-led organizations together with international stakeholders so as to leverage spillover benefits from global best-practices.