Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday said sharing best practices would be the key for Bangladesh and the ASEAN countries to strengthening collaboration in sectors like sustainable aquaculture and fisheries.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the international workshop titled ‘Towards Sustainable Aquaculture: An ASEAN Bangladesh Initiative on Antibiotic Stewardship, Good Practice and Cluster Farming’ held in Hotel Silver Castle in Mymensingh.

The session was attended by among others, Heads of ASEAN Missions in Dhaka, Representative of Food and Agricultural Organization, top bureaucrats, policy makers, researchers and participants from ten ASEAN countries and Bangladesh.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Department of Fisheries and ASEAN Secretariat have organized the three-day seminar with a view to strengthen cooperation between Bangladesh and ASEAN in the field of fisheries and aquaculture.

Experts from ASEAN and Bangladesh will share their experiences and best practices and eventually come up with sets of recommendations to forge new collaborations between Bangladesh and ASEAN in the aquaculture sector.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also arranged visits to historical places, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) and fisheries projects in Mymensingh for the visiting Heads of Missions and diplomats from ASEAN countries.

The government of Bangladesh has recently taken a number of initiatives to broaden its engagement with the ASEAN in its efforts to become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This workshop is a part of the ASEAN-Bangladesh Cooperation Project on Fisheries which is being funded by the Government of Bangladesh and will be rounded off on March 5 in Cox’s Bazar.

The remaining part of the project, a training programme and seminar, will be organized in Jakarta this year.