Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday urged the SAARC Secretariat to work more intensely to make the regional body functional for the shared benefit of the South Asian countries.

“SAARC is a forgotten word. If you can revitalise it, this will give dividends to the people of the whole region,” said the Chief Adviser.

Professor Yunus made the comment when Secretary General of SAARC Golam Sarwar called on him at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.

Secretary General Sarwar thanked Professor Yunus for being an ardent supporter of the SAARC and said that they were encouraged by his recent call to South Asian leaders for the revival of the multilateral body.

He briefed the Bangladesh Chief Adviser about the ongoing activities of SAARC at the working level, including the Programming Committee, Governing Bodies of Regional Centres and Specialised Bodies, events on climate change, SDGs, regional integration, customs cooperation, among others.

He said that in the absence of high-level meetings, the functional initiatives were not getting adequate strength and clarity.

Professor Yunus and the SAARC Secretary General discussed the need for meetings of foreign secretaries, foreign ministers, and other sectoral ministers, and even summit of the leaders for better functioning of the body.

“We have partnerships with a lot of organizations. We are trying to explore those,” said Secretary General Sarwar.

Professor Yunus asked Secretary General Sarwar to work on multilateral issues such as the export of hydroelectric power of Nepal to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan.

Professor Yunus invited young people from SAARC countries to join the youth festival in Bangladesh in January 2025.

“This will be good because this focuses on youth. The whole SAARC idea is to bring people together. This could be one way of opening the door,” he said.

This year, SAARC celebrates the historic 40th Charter Day.

The SAARC Secretary General requested continued support and guidance from the Government of Bangladesh for reinvigorating the SAARC process in realising the charter objectives of the association.