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No Bangladeshi newspaper at SAARC Secretariat

Jesmin Pipri, Diplomatic Correspondent |
Update: 2014-10-31 06:14:00
No Bangladeshi newspaper at SAARC Secretariat

KATMANDU, NEPAL: The library of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretariat has no collection of Bangladeshi newspapers due to lack of proper step of Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Bangladeshi officials working at the library, however, get the updates with necessary information about the country from online version of the newspapers.

According to the diplomatic rules and regulations, the member countries will provide newspapers to the Secretariat regularly.

Along with Bangladesh, the other seven member countries have not been following the rule for long.

Secretariat sources said, along with the other member countries, Bangladesh used to send three English dailies to the Secretariat regularly at that time when SAARC started functioning. But it has not been maintained for more than one decade.

At present several English dailies of Nepal are being delivered to the secretariat regularly and an Indian English daily is being bought from the market for the SAARC secretary general, told the Secretariat officials.

Other than the newspapers, publications of SARRC, different international originations and other member countries are available at the library. 

Besides, the publications of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies and Dhaka-based Center for Policy Dialogue are also available there.

Kalpana Tamrakar, librarian of the Secretariat, told banglanews that every member countries, earlier, sent two more English dailies through the diplomatic bags regularly at the beginning of SAARC journey.

But no countries have been sending newspapers for long, added Kalpana, who has been working at the Secretariat for 22 years.

SAARC was established on December 8, 1985 with the goals of economic, social, cultural, and regional cooperation development.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are the full members of the association while Chine and Japan are the observer members.

Curtain of the 18th SAARC Summit will be unveiled on November 22 and the main Summit will take place on November 26 and 27.

Sources told banglanews that at the summit, Bangladesh is likely to ask the member countries’ cooperation on economy, power and energy, disaster management, security, education, agriculture and rural development, climate change, and science and technology.

Bangladesh will also give emphasis on the transnational communication, because if the communication system becomes strong all other cooperation will be boosted within the shortest period of time, added the sources.

BDST: 1614 HRS, OCT 31, 2014

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